A New Legend
by achoo2015
Summary: This is my first story. What would've happened if Hiccup managed to escape Berk and create a name of his own, trying to finally bring peace between dragons and vikings. Rated T for mild language and violence.
1. Freedom

**This is my first story. Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for the support.**

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After Hiccup defeated the Gronckle, he was declared the winner of Dragon Training and was given the honor of killing his first dragon, the honor of being the first one of the teens who had the possibility to become a _real_ viking. Most of the villagers were happy that the chief's son was the winner of Dragon Training. They hoped that he would be a strong and brave chief after his father and that he would bring glory and prosperity to Berk. But Hiccup had other plans. He knew that he wasn't able to kill a dragon and it was pointless to try and change the viking's mentality after hundreds of years of fighting the big, scaly beasts.

So the best thing for him to do was to run away with Toothless and never return to the village of Berk. Leaving everything behind and starting a new life somewhere where dragons aren't viewed as pests, or at least as archenemies. After the celebration for Hiccup's achievement was over, he sneaked to the forge to get his journal, some of his sketches of Toothless's tail and some inventions of his, and finally a weapon, preferably something light, like a dagger or a short sword. He finally decided on a sharp dagger he made a few years ago. It was a good weapon, not his best, but certainly it won't disappoint. His next stop was the village's storage, to get some fish for Toothless and some supplies for the trip.

After about a hour or so of preparing, he was near the cove where Toothless was hidden. The cove was a very isolated place, it was perfect for hiding the dragon. He couldn't get out of the cove on its own, resulting in him getting caught by the vikings, or worse. The cove also had a supply of fresh water and fish for Toothless, which he would try to catch when he was hungry and Hiccup couldn't get him enough food; or even when he was bored and tired of sleeping.

Hiccup slowly walked inside the cove with all the stuff that he had brought for his plan. He scattered the fish he brought for Toothless to eat, and then, after a brief moment, he said, "We're leaving. Let's pack up. Looks like you and me are taking a little vacation. Forever." After Toothless started eating, Hiccup went to his tail and started mounting his new tail fin. When the dragon finished the fish, he started to get excited about their trip. A few moments after Hiccup finished preparing his tail, the dragon noticed the sadness in his friend and rider's eyes, so he gently nudged Hiccup with his head, getting the boy's attention. He started to pet Toothless's head for a few moments, then he said with a sad voice, "I'm okay, bud..." but the dragon didn't buy the cheap lie and nudged his rider again, getting a different response from Hiccup, "It's just that, they only started to care for me after I became good at dragon fighting, they didn't give a crap about me before. I was just Hiccup the Useless. They never accepted me for what I was, they only cared about their traditions and killing dragons. I don't want to become one of them. You are my only true friend and if they would find you, they would kill you. We should just..." He was interrupted by the sound of a rock falling and hitting the ground. Within a few seconds, Toothless jumped and grabbed the intruder that failed to sneak up on them.

Without Hiccup even starting to understand that happened, Toothless was holding Astrid to the ground, the black dragon made a loud roar, with the idea of scaring the intruder. Astrid was a little too worried about her current situation, being pinned to the ground by a dragon, most likely a Night Fury, by the looks of it, to notice Hiccup running towards them, starting to push the big dragon of her, "She is a friend. You don't have to kill her! Get down you overgrown reptile!"

Hiccup almost yelled at the dragon, making it to slowly back away, but the giant reptile still looked aggressive and ready to pounce at the slightest move she made that the dragon didn't liked. She was too focused on the dragon to notice Hiccup staying near it, until he yelled at her, "What in Thor's name are you doing here?! Why were you following me?!"

The girl was still shocked about the previous events and only after almost ten seconds she asked Hiccup, still with a worried expression on her face, "How did you manage to control this, demon?" Toothless was obviously insulted by that question and let out a low growl making Astrid worried about her life. After all, if Hiccup could control this, _thing_, he could very well kill her. She wasn't the nicest to him before dragon training and things certainly didn't improved after dragon training.

"He is not a demon, he is a dragon, a Night Fury to be more precise, and he is my friend." Hiccup said defending his dragon.

"_Your_ _friend_?! Hiccup, you must be insane to call a _dragon_ ,your friend!" She yelled at the young teen. Toothless started to growl louder at Astrid, slowly approaching her with a death glare in his eyes, until Hiccup scratched his head, making the Night Fury stop and look at his _friend_ confused, before stopping and getting back under Hiccup's arm. The girl noticed the interaction between them and she asked, "Can you control him?".

"No," Hiccup promptly responded, "He has its own free will, I am just his friend and he will do his best to protect me." Astrid slowly nodded, beginning to understand the relation between Hiccup and the dragon. "Now why did you follow me?" He asked again.

Astrid was taken aback by his sudden change of tone. She was conscious that he could very well order the dragon to kill her and nobody would ever found out, "I wanted to find out how you became so good at Dragon Training and how you managed to beat me." She said in one breath, slowly backing away from Toothless.

"Well, now you know." Hiccup said, "I learned everything I know from Toothless, he helped me understand dragons, or at least begin to understand them."

"How did you find him?"

"Remember that night when we were raided by dragons? When I told everyone that I hit a Night Fury? And all of you just laughed at me?" Astrid slowly nodded in response. But she didn't laughed at him then, it's true that she didn't believed him and rolled her eyes when he announced that, again, but she never laughed at him. "Well, the next day I went out trying to find him and bring his head to the village so that I would be acknowledged as a true viking. A true, dragon killer." He said the final two words with a slight disgust, "When I found him, I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill him. So I him go. And in return, he didn't kill me. The following days I tried to befriend him and I noticed that he couldn't fly. Then I realized that I maimed him. I felt horrible about that so I made him a new tail fin and started to train him. He is my only real friend. He is the only one who accepted me for who I am and didn't try to change me."

"What are you going to do?" Astrid asked, still a little worried about her situation. Her fate was in the hands of the boy everyone made fun of, the boy she never tried to help, afraid that it might ruin her imagine in the village, even thought it was wrong and she knew that, she still never even lifted a finger to help him. Her fate was in the hands of the boy with a dragon.

"Well, I guess that we have to kill you." Hiccup said sarcastically, but the obvious sarcasm in his voice was missed by Astrid, who just widened her eyes at his answer, before jumping after her weapon, the axe that she dropped a few feet behind her, when she fell from the cove's walls. Toothless jumped after her, preparing to attack the young teen, but Hiccup interrupted him when he yelled "For Thor's sake, I was joking!" Astrid already had her axe in her left hand when Toothless pinned her in the wall of the cove. The dragon was giving her a death glare and growling at her.

"Astrid," Hiccup slowly said, "throw your weapon down".

"Are you insane?!" she yelled, making Toothless to growl more loudly at her, waiting for Hiccup's orders to kill her. He just needed his rider to say that this girl was a problem.

Astrid was preparing to hit the dragon with her axe, hopefully managing to free herself. She was tensing her muscles when her eyes widened at a obvious realization. This dragon was only trying to protect Hiccup from a stranger. Not a stranger to him, but a stranger to the dragon. Hiccup probably told the dragon about her, saying that she was a mean person and that she hated him. And so far she wasn't leaving a good first impression. So she sighed heavily and did a thing she wasn't expecting to ever do near a dragon.

She let go of her axe.

Toothless looked a little more relaxed at her after that, but he still didn't backed off, so Hiccup slowly approached them and said with a smile, "I see that you two are finally starting to get along."

Astrid looked annoyed at him, "Hiccup, I'll kill you..." But she was interrupted by Toothless, who started to growl again, showing his fangs. "You're an asshole."

Hiccup laughed at her response, then he patted Toothless on the head, making the dragon to slowly let her go. "She's a friend Toothless."

"Thanks." Astrid said, catching her breath and regaining a somewhat more though posture. After a few moments of silence, she remembered Hiccup's conversation with his dragon, before she fell and interrupted them, so she asked. "What did you mean when you said you were going to leave, forever?"

"Well..." Hiccup started, "I am going to leave with Toothless and never come back to this accursed place." He managed with a fake, sarcastic smile on his face.

"But you managed to command a..." Toothless looked angry at her. "... I mean, befriend a Night Fury. You can change the way vikings think about dragon! You can change our society! You can end the war with dragons. We have to tell you father!" She quickly said, grabbing his hand and her axe, trying to pull Hiccup out of the cove.

But he didn't budge.

She tried to again to move him, saying how he could help Berk to gain a huge military advancement over the other villages. How he could transform from Hiccup the Useless to Hiccup the Dragon Rider. After a few more seconds, Hiccup finally yelled "STOP!"

Astrid froze in place.

Toothless looked surprised to his friend and the other teen.

"I am not going anywhere near that village ever again!"

"What?!" She quickly asked.

"You heard me."

"Why?"

"Because... Because you didn't care about me until I won the Dragon Training. No one from the village cared about me until I won that stupid competition. You all made fun of me for being Hiccup the Useless, Hiccup the Screw-Up. None of you ever tried to accept me for what I was. You didn't even cared about me before that!"

"Hiccup..." Astrid slowly said.

"NO! I don't want to ever go near that Odin's forsaken place again!"

Astrid was looking at him as he went back to his bag, near the rock he was sitting before with Toothless. She was silently looking at him packing his things, going to gods know where.

"Where are you even planning to go?" She finally asked, her voice soft and sad.

"I don't know." He answered promptly.

"What are you going to do to get food?"

"I have Toothless.".

"What do you even hope to achieve from running away?" She asked again, almost yelling the question at him.

"I don't fucking know! Okay?! Are you happy now?!" He yelled angry, turning around to face her. "Why in Hel's name do you even care?!"

Astrid was obviously shocked by what he said, more like the way he said it. She felt hurt by his words. All that anger and sadness he gathered in all those years had left their mark. "I'm sorry about the past. I'm sorry about how you were treated. I'm sorry that I didn't even try to help you. And I know that you might never forgive us for that, but at least know that _I_ _am_ _sorry_."

Hiccup climbed on Toothless's saddle and looked over at Astrid. "I'm sorry, but it's too late now." His voice quiet, hiding pain and sadness in it. It hurt to yell at her. He honestly didn't wanted to, but it was just too much. She doesn't deserve to _be _sorry. She could've helped him, at least acknowledge him. Everyone knew that he liked her, the least she could do was to not ignore him constantly. In a weird way it would've been better if she was the one that insulted him, at least she would've looked at him and talked to him.

"Try not to die or hurt yourself..." She said with sadness, "Maybe. If you want, come visit the village from time to time. Maybe we will see that dragons aren't a threat. And then all of us can look up to you. Just...Take care..."

After a few moments of silence. He took off. Flying on his dragon to Thor's know where. Astrid only hoped that he knew what he was doing and that he would stay safe.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far. ** This is a short chapter, most chapters will have around 4000-5000 words, but from time to time, there will be this kind of chapters to fill the story.****


	2. Accommodation

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support.**

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A few hours later.

Hiccup sat with Toothless near him on an island in the archipelago. The island was small, smaller even than the village of Berk, only the village. But at least no one knew they were there. They would be safe there, for now.

He gathered dried wood from some fallen trees on the island and with the help of Toothless he made a fire to keep them warm and cook some fish. He tried to sleep, not being able to get much rest in the past few days, with all the planning for his 'escape'. And the fact that Astrid delayed their trip and gave him a few things to think about didn't really help him rest. Toothless was staying tall near him, showing that he will stay for guard this night, allowing Hiccup to rest.

The following morning they were greeted by two Terrible Terrors. The two small dragons were sitting in a tree near their campfire. The two groups just changed looks for awhile, until Hiccup started cooking some fish on the almost extinguished fire. Then the two small dragons approached them. Hiccup was surprised at first by their action, but soon he was comfortable enough near them. One of the Terrors was mostly green, with a few red and brown spots over his head and back, the other one was mostly red with a few green and orange spots over his head and back, but it also a small scar on its back, about half an inch. He looked curious at the healed injury, thinking about what could've possibly caused it.

After he started eating his fish, he looked at the two dragons eyeing him curiously. He gave them a raw fish from his bag. The two Terrors smelled it cautiously until the green one tried to steal it, then the two dragons started fighting.

Hiccup just stood there, near Toothless, not knowing what to do. Was he supposed to break the fight? Maybe they were just playing? Anyway, they looked funny. Two small dragons fighting over a fish. So he threw another one near them, which the red Terror grabbed. The two small dragons separated, both eating their own fish.

It was almost noon. Hiccup was thinking about exploring this island a little more, maybe there were some wild fruits here. Or maybe some lost treasure, if he was lucky. The two Terrible Terrors followed him until he explored the whole island in less than half an hour. The red one seemed more eager to help Hiccup find something useful, the green one just wanted to burn stuff and disturb the silence. Sadly, the island had nothing useful on it. He looked at the sky to see if there was a storm coming, but no, the sky was clear and blue as the water of the ocean.

So he went back to the camp where Toothless was still sleeping and started to pack up. After he put his bag on Toothless saddle, he tried to wake up the cat-like reptile, but the Night Fury didn't even budge for ten minutes. The dragon was doing an excellent job ignoring his human, until the two Terrible Terrors jumped on his back, making him look annoyed at them. After he tried to get them off, without any success, he gave up on the idea of sleeping and allowed Hiccup to finish the preparations for their next departure.

The red Terrible Terror jumped on Hiccup's bag, while the other one was clinging itself on Toothless's back. So Hiccup allowed the two small dragons to come with them. Toothless took off and started gliding high above the sea lever, allowing Hiccup to look at any island from the sky.

It wasn't long until Hiccup noticed a big island covered mostly by forest with a small mountain to the left side of it. In the best case scenario, there might be a small cave on the side of the mountain, and with the huge forest covering the island, he was sure that there would be a lot of animals and wild fruits in there. What kind of animals will be soon determined. Soon, Toothless landed on the top of the mountain. Hiccup stood there for a few moments admiring the view. From the top of this mountain, all the surrounding islands were visible and there literally nothing perturbing the field of view. This island would be a great place for a long time camp.

Now, to more present business. He sent the two Terrible Terrors to find a cave, they were small, agile and he knew that they would come back to him since he was going to feed them, and nothing is more happy than a dragon that can eat, sleep and do nothing all day. He sent the green Terror to the base of the mountain, near the forest, which would have been a better place for a camp, because it would be better covered and a lot closer to the forest, allowing him to hunt way more easily. Or at least that is what he hoped. The red Terror went to search the sides of the mountain for any hidden cave.

After about a hour, the green Terror returned with a small bird in its mouth, which meant that there was food on the island and that was all that Hiccup wished for the time being. The red Terror, the one that went to search for a cave on the mountain side, came back with some wild berries. Hiccup realized the scouting potential those dragons had. They could quickly cover a large amount of ground and they could bring stuff back to their trainer. He then followed the green Terror, since it was reacting like it found what Hiccup was looking for. And luckily for him, it was a cave. The cave was slightly covered by some bushes and a tree, it wasn't that hidden, but at night it should provide enough cover, blocking the cold wind. They walked inside the cave and the first thing that Hiccup noticed was a small tunnel went to the right, they followed the tunnel for about one minute until they reached the end of the cave. This was a great thing, he could make a fire at the end of the cave and the angle would make it almost impossible to be seen from outside. Hiccup then quickly sent the two Terrors to find some dried wood while he and Toothless would go find some logs so that they could make a fire and cook whatever meat remained from Berk.

In the morning, he noticed that the two Terrible Terrors were still following him so he thought about naming them. The two Terrors looked like brothers, they remembered him of Ruffnut and Tuffnut, always fighting over the most stupid things, but they were still pretty close. He named the green one Blad, as the green nature, and the red one Ild, as the fire. They seemed to like their new names. He just hoped that after naming them they wouldn't leave without notice.

After they had breakfast from the leftovers from last night, Hiccup took Toothless for a quick scan of the island. They flew over the island to make a better comparation of it with Berk. This island looked a little bigger than his home island, there didn't seem to be any wild dragons or any humans. They noticed a few boars in a small clearing in the forest, but no other animals. This place was perfect for a new home. If he would make a few small changes to his cave he could see himself living here for a few years.

Most of the days he was flying and hunting with Toothless. The Terrors gathered a huge supply of small birds and berries, there didn't seem to be any other fruits. With the help of Toothless, they gathered a big amount of logs in the cave, which was enough for them to last at least a few weeks. He had a lot of experience with leatherworking, since he was a blacksmith apprentice, so he managed to make himself a few leather flasks to hold water. There were a few places that looked like springs, so he had a big amount of fresh water. He had a lot of leather from all the boars that he hunted with Toothless, since the three dragons ate a lot.

One day he thought about making himself a bow. It was a weapon and he could hunt with it if Toothless got injured or sick. He could provide for the dragons. So he started looking in the forest for a piece of dead hardwood, about 4 or 5 feet long, but not old enough to be cracking. He had a few candidates, but most of them had knots and limbs, so he threw those away. Hiccup finally found the piece of wood that he needed, it was from an oak. He then proceeded to mark the handhold of the bow, which he will later enforce with some leather stripes, then he started to shape the piece of wood to be more flexible and to be the strongest at the handhold. After he finished shaping the bow he quickly went back to the cave to finish his weapon.

He started to make the notches at each end of the bow, not deep enough to destroy its structure, just enough to hold the string in place, then he got a rope from Toothless's bag and started to untie the strings of it. He then managed to get three thin threads from the rope, then he made a knot at the top notch of the bow, tying the strings to the bow, then he proceeded to twist the three threads to make a stronger string while he got to the other end of the bow. Then he made a knot at the bottom notch and he finally had a weapon. He had made a bow alone in the wildness. Hiccup tested the string and frame of the bow to make sure it wouldn't break with a real arrow, made some final adjustments and he was ready to make some arrows. He placed the bow near the cave wall and went out again to find wood to for his arrows.

He was looking for some dried, straight sticks. He managed to find thirteen sticks that matched his bow. Then he quickly returned to the cave to shape the arrows and create a small notch at the end of each, to be accommodate the arrows with the string. After he shaped the arrows he started to sharpen them with his dagger. By the end of the day, he had a bow with thirteen arrows.

In the next morning, he went practicing. It was somehow difficult for him to pull the string to its full potential, but he was hitting the targets, most of the time. He used trees as targets so he can get used to the bow, when he missed, the two Terrors would go and retrieve his arrows. They were really useful.

After two weeks, he thought he was prepared to try and hunt down a boar with his bow. So with the bow and arrows with him, he started to search the forest for a prey. He climbed a tree to get a better view. Soon after that, he noticed two boars sleeping at the shadow of a bush. He positioned himself for the shot, he slowly got an arrow from his quiver and placed it on the string, he pulled the string until it touched his cheek. His heart was beating fast. This was the moment when he would kill an animal all by himself. This was the moment when he would do something that he never managed to do on any hunting trip with his father. This was the moment when would show the world that he doesn't need Berk.

He released the string.

The arrow went flying through the trees and hit a boar. The animal quickly woke up and started running. But he wouldn't get far, Hiccup thought, until the arrow felt from the boar on the ground and the animal just kept running.

Hiccup was shocked.

"How in Hel's name did this happened? How?" He was yelling to no one in particular, getting down from the tree and going to get his arrow from the ground.

He started to gather some pointy rocks. He was going to make some arrowheads for those damned arrows. He got the rocks and went back to his cave. He made a notch at the pointy end of each arrow and put the rock in the notch, after that, he secured the rock in the notch with some leather stripes he got from the boars that Toothless killed. Now he was ready. But the arrows seemed a little unbalanced. He would have to practice with his new arrows until he would go and kill a boar. Those damned creatures made fun of him and his arrows.

After just two days from creating the new and improved arrows and practicing with them, he went searching the forest for a game. He then noticed a few boars peacefully drinking from a small pound. This was revenge time, they laughed at his arrows and now he will kill one of them with his new and improved arrows. He slowly placed an arrow on the string and pulled it until it touched his cheek.

He then released the arrow.

The arrow went flying hitting a boar and killing it without the poor animal ever knowing what happened. He felt the adrenaline in his blood. He was actually quite proud of himself. He managed to kill a boar with a weapon he created. And mastered. All by himself. Of course that the bow wasn't a new invention but the fact that he managed to create a bow and arrows for it and managed to score a kill, was a lot for Hiccup.

This was only the beginning.

He now had a weapon and the skill to use it. He continued hunting for one or two boars per day. He didn't wanted to scare the entire population on the island, so that the boars would migrate to the other side of the island. But he was proud of himself. He was still a little amazed by his growing skill with the bow. He even tried shooting arrows from Toothless's back while flying. He actually had the potential to go and raid some ships or villages. Well, maybe. He wasn't a big fan of raiding mostly because he was bad at combat and if he would be separated from Toothless he would pretty much die.

After more than a month on that island, with all the practice with his bow, he wanted to find a bigger prey and kill it to prove to himself that he was a good marksman, even a better hunter. He was becoming bold. After all that time in Berk where he wasn't able to kill anything on hunting trips, he wasn't able to hurt any living creature, he was now sitting with a weapon he created, surviving alone in the woods. Well, not really alone, with a Night Fury, the offspring of light and death itself, and two Terrible Terrors.

But he would manage to survive alone, he had already killed a lot of wild animals, he had more than enough food to last for weeks, but with his dragons, this food would last five days, at most. Those dragons ate a lot, mostly Toothless, I mean yes, he was big, but with all the food that he ate it was shocking that he still had his agility.

Without even noticing how time passed, they were on this island for almost six weeks. Almost six weeks since he left Berk and he was happy. Happy for not being the screw-up anymore, he had three dragons that accepted him for who he was, and cared for him. They were his friends now. At the beginning of the sixth week, he noticed a small ship in the distance, approaching the island. It was a small ship, sort of like the one that trader Johann used, maybe a bit bigger. Hiccup thought he noticed three persons on the ship.

He started to panic. _Why are they here? Who are they? Did my dad send them? Did they know I'm here with dragons?_ All those questions just made him panic more. _What if that was a scout ship from the Outcast? What if they recognize me? What if they bring me to Alvin, and just kill the dragons?!_

He had to take action. He equipped his bow and about twenty arrows and called Toothless. The adrenaline started pumping trough his veins. The dragon seemed worried about his friend and the way he was acting. They quickly got out of the cave and started approaching the shore. Hiccup and his dragons climbed a tree to have a better view of the place. After what seemed like an eternity, the ship stopped almost near the island and two of the sailors got ashore with a boat. Hiccup looked at the ship to try to find out who owned it, from what island it came and where it was going.

After not more than fifteen minutes later, the two sailors reached the shore and pulled the boat on the beach, so it wouldn't be carried away by the waves. That meant they were going to stay for a while on his island. But who were they? Could they be pirates? But not on such a small ship. Maybe it was a search party for Berk? No, it couldn't be, they wouldn't search for him more than two days, at most, they didn't care about him that much. Maybe Astrid convinced the others that dragons are not a threat? No, there were no dragons on the ship and why would they search him with a ship if they managed to make a peace treaty with the dragons?

Then he noticed that one of them was going in the forest while the other one started exploring the beach. Hiccup followed the one that was going in the forest. He had to know what they were doing here. He followed him until he reached a cave.

His cave.

Hiccup started to panic more. If they found a fresh campfire in the cave that would be the end of him. They would know that someone was here. He had to stop him. He slowly climbed a tree, to get a better view, then he got the bow from his right shoulder in his left arm, placed an arrow that he made on the string, and pulled it slowly, watching the man approach his cave. He closed his right eye to have a better aim.

He was ready.

He released the string.

Then his mind was being filled with thoughts. _I can't kill a man. But he was trespassing What if he only wanted some food or water or even help, what if those men needed help? What if he had a family? What if they are going to miss him? _Hiccup felt anger at the man and sadness at his rushed decision. The arrow was slowly flying through the air, through the leafs and branches. _This is it. The arrow will hit him. _Hiccup tried to yell at the last second, to warn the man. But it was too late.

The arrow went through his neck. He was choking on his own blood. He wasn't able to breathe. He fell to the ground, twitching for a few seconds.

Then he stopped moving.

Hiccup slowly approached the man. He was scared—no—_terrified_ to see what lied before him. A man in a pool of blood, the man _he_ killed. The man that Hiccup killed with a bow, not even in a fair fight. The man that was cowardly shoot with an arrow. Who knew what he was doing there? He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Hiccup stood near the man, kneeled near him and tried to turn him over to see his face. _What if he was someone from Berk? What if he cared for Hiccup so that is why he was searching for him after such a long time?_ Hiccup started to sob. He started to cry for an unknown person he just killed.

He felt sick. Sick at what he just did.

What in Hel's name was wrong with him?

He never killed a man before.

He never tried to hurt a man before.

This couldn't be his kill. He couldn't have done this. This was not like him. This couldn't be his doing.

But there he stood. Near the lifeless being, not knowing if he meant well or harm. Not knowing who he was or what was he looking for.

Then he turned him on his back. He never saw that face before. But his eyes. Those brown, cold, dead eyes looked at him. Looking through his soul. He felt sick.

He started to feel dizzy. He couldn't see, everything was blurry. He was feeling his stomach rebel against him. He started to vomit on the ground, near the body.

Toothless approached him, followed closely by Ild and Blad. They all looked at what Hiccup did. Not judging him for this, knowing that it was for the best. He did this to protect himself and to protect them. His dragon friend gently nudged his head into Hiccup's hand.

The boy looked at him, wiping the puke from his mouth, then he jumped and hugged the dragon. He was holding Toothless with all his strength, not letting go. The dragon understood that his rider needed this, a shoulder to cry on, and he would provide it without any hesitation.

Hiccup wanted to go home now, he wanted to tell his father what happened, he wanted a serious speech from his father, telling him that he did nothing wrong, that there was no other choice, that he did this to protect his friends, the dragons.

Then Hiccup snapped out of it. He knew that there was probably no one in the entire archipelago that made peace with the dragons, except him. He knew that he was going to get marked as a traitor and be executed, with his dragons. With the only creatures that cared for him and accepted him. Anger started flowing through his veins. He could not let that happen. He could not let the other man discover that his comrade was killed by a walking fishbone with a bow, with three dragons. He had to find him and make sure he wasn't going to find out what happened. By any means necessary.

"NO!" He yelled. "We have to find the other one." the boy said to Toothless. "We can't let him find…this." he said looking at the body on the ground. Toothless nodded and started going to the shore.

Hiccup followed Toothless to the shore where the other man was. But he was gone now. The boat was still there. And the ship was still near the island.

"Shit." Hiccup said in a low voice. "Go and find him!" he whispered to Toothless as he was going to explore the beach. He approached the boat to see if there was anything that could tell him who those people were. Then he heard a voice.

"Are you lost, kid?" He froze in place. "What are you doing here?" He heard the man asking again. He started to panic, wondering if he had already found the body if his comrade

"I...I...I-I just arrived here with my dad on a hunting trip, a few days ago." He said turning around to see a man in his thirties with a sword at his belt, already with his hand on the hilt, being prepared to attack if something provoked him.

"Then where is your dad?" He asked, "I want to talk to him." The man said while approaching Hiccup. " But first, what is your name kid?".

"My...my...my name is...is—" He said stammering.

"I don't have all day you little brat!" The man said while pushing Hiccup. The boy started backing away from him when he noticed Toothless sneaking up behind the man.

"My name is Fáfnir, I am a Dragon Rider." As he finished introducing himself the man laughed and tried to hit Hiccup with his sword, at which Toothless reacted by jumping and biting the man's hand. Breaking the bone in his hand. The man fell on his knees, yelling in pain, holding his arm. Hiccup slowly approached the man and asked him "What are you doing on this island?"

The man started to back away from Hiccup, trying to get away from the boy, but Toothless stopped him. He was so panicked, so scared, he was going to be killed by a boy with a black dragon. A dragon that no one ever saw before.

"We are here to...to hide the loot that we manage steal from a roman ship." The man answered.

"So you are pirates then?" Hiccup asked.

"Ye...Yes sir, we are pirates."

"So you managed to loot a roman ship with only three soldiers?" Hiccup asked with a sarcastic tone. He liked the position he was in. This man that lied before him was afraid of his power. Of his power to befriend dragons.

"H-How do you know there were three of us?"

"I only saw three people on that ship, you and one of your friends came to the island while the other one was on the boat to defend it in case something happened. I am right?"

"Y—yes sir."

"So what did you manage to steal?" Hiccup asked rather curios.

"Well... we didn't really looted a roman ship, it was more like a roman camp on an island not too far from here."

"Oh. I see. So, what did you steal?" The boy asked again trying to look intimidating and tough.

"Not a lot, it couldn't be worth more than a few silver pieces." He answered trying not to divulge too much.

"I won't ask again." Hiccup said in a calm but threatening voice, while Toothless, near him, started to growl while approaching the thief.

"We stole weapons, equipment and some supplies. That is all, I swear!" The man said almost yelling at the beast that was approaching him.

"Good," Hiccup said with a little smile, already having something planned in his mind. "How about a little trade?"

"Yes, of course, anything."

"You will give me a bow that you stole from the romans, if you stole more than one I would personally chose it, also, you will give me arrows and in return, I let you and your friend from the ship live. You like the sound of that?"

A bow and some arrows isn't a huge price for his life, the thief thought and immediately agreed with the trade. They got on the boat and Toothless pulled them near the ship, the man yelled at his friend on the ship to stay calm and that the boy and his dragon wouldn't cause any problems. After they reached the ship, the first man explained how the boy just wanted a bow and some arrows and he would leave them alone.

"Why in Hel's name should we give anything to this runt?" The second man yelled.

"Because this...runt," Hiccup said, almost spitting the last word "...will kill both of you if you don't agree with our little deal." He said mostly calm, but they could feel his confidence in what he just said. Toothless was near Hiccup, his job there was only to look like a threat. So he did his best in that manner and let out an angry roar.

The thieves were being intimidated by Hiccup, actually, more by Toothless. But the idea of a small viking that commands a dragon was something unheard before. The power that this boy possessed in his hands was unimaginable.

After sealing the deal, Hiccup mounted his dragon with the new equipment and flew to their main camp. He was happy that he managed to pull this trick on them. He knew he wasn't capable of killing anyone.

Then he remembered. The dead body just at the entrance of their cave. Just the simple mental imagine caused problems with his breathing. His heart started beating faster. He told Toothless to land fast because his vision had became blurry.

And so did the dragon. They landed in the forest near some trees, they were pretty isolated from the outside world.

Hiccup dismounted his dragon and felt to the ground. He was shivering. He remembered the cold look that the man gave him. His head was being flooded with images of his face. Of his eyes, his cold, dead, soul-piercing eyes. The eyes that marked him.

Toothless was near him, nudging his head into Hiccup's back, showing him that he was there, supporting him. Then he lied down near the boy, hugging him with his wings, bringing him closer, protecting him from the world.

Hiccup felt asleep in his dragon's arms. The next morning, after he woke up, he noticed that the ship was gone. He thought that maybe his comrades came and picked up the body. He hoped that, he really hoped that the lifeless man was gone. But after he reached his cave, he noticed the body laying exactly where it was a day ago. His comrades abandoned him, the life of a pirate or thief or whatever they were, was not an easy one.

Hiccup felt a little better than before, but not good enough to bury the body, or at least burn it. He asked Toothless to drag the body somewhere away from the cave. And so, the dragon did. After more than an hour, Toothless came back. It really took him a long time, but Hiccup thought that Toothless disposed of the body so he wouldn't have to look at him again and he was grateful for that.

He gave Toothless a pat on the head and thanked him for this favor, then he proceeded to cook some boar meat for himself and prepare the meat for the dragons.

This was an eventful day, too eventful for his taste, but at least he got good arrows and a new bow. A bow that was made by a skilled blacksmith with good materials, not with something that you can find in a day of searching the forest. This bow was created with the intention of being used in combat. It was perfect for the next step in his training.

He didn't start to hunt for a few days after the incident, but he had to gather some food for himself and the dragons, sure that Ild and Blad brought small birds and wild berries from time to time, but it was not enough for the four of them, so he had to provide and train. This new bow seems a lot easier to use than the one he made and a lot more powerful and precise at long range. And it was also smaller than his previous bow, so it was easier for him to sneak on wild boars and to maneuver through the forest.

It had been almost two months since he left Berk, almost two months since he talked to Astrid, there were no search parties for him. Maybe they looked for him for a few days on the island, maybe hoping they would find his body so they wouldn't worry about him coming back and screwing things up again. A part of him was happy with the idea that Berk was in the past. He never really wanted to see that cursed place again. But he missed Gobber, he missed his father somehow, and he missed Astrid. He still wonders sometimes if she told Stoick about Toothless and how he was leaving, or if she just kept silent in some final respect for him. After all, when they departed she told him the she was sorry.

Sorry for everything.

But it was all for the best, he thought, he was free now, he could have gone anywhere, do everything he wanted, he had no real responsibilities, he didn't have to worry about screwing things up, he didn't have to worry about being the son of the chief, how he would rule over the people that made him feel so miserable over the years. He was happy now, he was really free. No one insulted him for no reason, no one humiliated him just for fun, no one tried to beat him up just so they could feel better about their insecure lives. He had all the time in the world to himself.

A few days after. He was out, hunting. Everything was so peaceful and quiet, until he noticed a small boat slowly coming to the island. It was just a boat, with no ship nearby. It was weird, why would someone just travel with a dingy? It couldn't hold more than one person and very little supplies. But from where it came? There were no islands close to this one from that direction. It would take about three to four hours until the boat reached the shore. Time was on his side now.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**

**And also, the name Fáfnir was the only thing that I found dragon related about the viking culture, but the story is not be connected to the legend.**


	3. Departure

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support. And also thank you guys for the suggestions and for the reviews. ****It really helps boosting my confidence in this story.**

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Two months earlier.

After Hiccup flew with Toothless, Astrid just stayed at the cove for hours, staring aimlessly at the sky, hoping that he would come back, hoping that he would realize that this was all a huge mistake and that he would just panic and come back.

But he never did.

When she arrived home her parents were already asleep. She knew that they would question her about her whereabouts that evening and she wasn't really looking forward to it. How was she going to explain the she just saw Hiccup pet a _Night Fury _and then _fly_ _away_ on it? There is no simple way of explaining that. The least she could do was to not wake them up, making them more angry than they were supposed to be. So she sneaked up through her window and quickly changed in her night robe. She really wasn't looking forward to the next day, but there wasn't much she could do about it now, so she tried to get some sleep.

Morning finally arrived. She didn't really manage to get much rest, the events from the previous day kept getting into her head, keeping her awake. But the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. In dragon training, Hiccup never fought dragons, he _calmed_ them, he never even tried to hurt them, because he knew that he could control them. How, she had no idea, but at least she now knows that it's possible to control dragon. She heard her mother walking up the stairs, so she prepared herself for the worst, silently looking at the door and waiting for her mother to brutally open it and yell at her. But she entered Astrid's room a lot more calmly than she expected and asked her promptly, her tone death serious. "Do you know where Hiccup is?" Astrid's eyes widened, visibly surprised by the question, she was expecting to be yelled at for staying out until night, not helping her mother with dinner and stuff like that. But no, they just had to ask her this.

"No, I haven't seen him since he was declared winner." She lied. Astrid Hofferson just lied to her mother to protect a boy who betrayed their traditions and their village and everything they ever stood for. She was in a lot of trouble and she knew it.

Her mother sighed, "Get dressed. After that, come down. We need to talk." she said before leaving the teen in her room.

Astrid turned over in her bed, burying her face in the pillow, muffling a yell. She stayed like that for a few seconds, thinking about the best course of action in her situation. She slowly got up from the bed and stared at the clothes she threw on the floor when she got home, the night before. 'We need to talk,' kept echoing in her head. She didn't like the sound of that, she didn't like it at all. She hoped that it wasn't that serious, I mean let's be realistic, this wasn't the first time she stayed late and didn't help her mother cook dinner, it couldn't be that serious. Or could be? She was the last person to see Hiccup, but they couldn't possibly know that, she hoped they didn't. Either way, if she told them now about Hiccup's betrayal she would have been in trouble for not telling them earlier, maybe they could've managed to stop him or something. But if she didn't tell them now and they would somehow found out that she was hiding valuable information, she would have been a lot more trouble.

She could run.

Just jump out the window and try to follow Hiccup. But he had a dragon and she didn't. It would have been hard, but she could still try.

Astrid snapped out of it when her mother called her down again.

She slowly started walking down the stairs to see her parents. Stoick, Gobber and even Spitelout, the second in command after Stoick, were there. This was bad.

This was very, very bad.

Astrid tried to stay calm as she slowly approached her parents and the other vikings. After a little hesitation, she asked, "What's the chief doing here? I didn't do anything wrong did I?" but her voice cracked a little at the end. She was in big trouble.

"We are here to talk about Hiccup, you were the last one to see him." Stoick simply stated. Astrid started to turn pale. _He knew. They knew. No. They couldn't_. She made sure no one was following her. But she was angry then, maybe someone slipped unnoticed. This wasn't possible. There's no way in Helheim this is happening. She needs to say something. _Anything_. But she couldn't. She tried to talk, but she only managed to stutter, not making any words, just noises, her chest started to hurt, she couldn't breathe. _Hiccup_. He managed to ruin her life. _Was this his revenge? Did he plan this? Did he plan to get her executed for aiding a traitor?_

"Astrid!" She snapped out of it, the pain was still there, her heart rate was increasing, she turned to the vikings and noticed that they were all staring at her, judging every move she made. _Is this how Hiccup felt all those years?_ No, to him it was worse, they made fun of him, insulted him. She wasn't insulted. But they were all looking at her. Not with admiration or pride, like she'd been used to, but with _disappointment_. She used to be the pride of Berk. One of the most promising young warriors this village had ever saw. And after just one small, tiny, minuscule mistake, they were all looking at her like she lost half of the village's livestock. That was Hiccup's job not her's.

And now she was blaming him...

This wasn't really his fault, it was _her _decision to follow him in the forest. It was _her_ call to lower her weapon and trust him when he said that Toothless wouldn't hurt her. For Odin's sake, she even remembered the _dragon's_ name. Maybe it would've been better to wake her parents when she got home and just talk to them, then she wouldn't be in this situation.

"Astrid, we need to know what you said to Hiccup last time you saw him and where you saw him!" Stoick almost yelled at the young teen.

She wanted to talk, but she couldn't say a word. She really tried, but only undistinguished noises came out of her mouth.

"You know that you would have to be punished for not cooperating with the chief on such an important matter?" Spitelout asked her. She glanced at each one of them in turn, visibly worried and panicked. After almost another minute, she managed to ask for water. Her mom brought her a tankard filled with the cold, transparent liquid. She slowly started drinking from the tankard and then she finally spoke.

"H-How do you know that I-I was the last who saw him?" Great. Now she was stuttering. Like she wasn't stuttering before. At least now she could talk. She could at least be grateful about that.

"Snotlout said that he saw you run after Hiccup in the forest." Spitelout answered.

Fucking Snotlout. He's to blame for this. He always told his dad everything that happened in the village. No one could do a fricking thing in this village without Spitelout knowing.

"I-I talked to him..." She paused, taking another sip from the tankard. "...yesterday...at the cove..."

"And you didn't tell us about this because...?" Spitelout asked her with a mocking tone.

"B-Because he was there with... a dragon." She forced the words out of her mouth. The pain in her chest slowly started to fade, but her heart rate was still high.

"WHAT?" Stoick yelled, making her flinch. "So he was killed by one of those spawns of Hel's? You could've helped him!" He was still yelling at the poor teen.

"No..." Astrid almost whispered, "The dragon attacked me..." she paused, taking a few deep breaths."...the dragon tried to protect Hiccup from me..."

"What in Hel's name are you talking about child?" Her mother asked her.

"The dragon listened to him, obeyed what Hiccup said." She continued on a weak tone, staring at the floor, holding the wooden tankard with both hands.

"You lie!" Stoick said promptly, making Astrid flinch again. "This can't be true! Hiccup would never do that!" He yelled. Astrid released a sob. She quickly wiped a lone tear from her eye. At that point, she didn't cared about her honor anymore. She could die. Gods, she could be executed. She just wanted this conversation to end and everything to return to normal. She never wished for something more her entire life. But it was too late for that now. Things could never return to normal now, not for her anyway.

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Her father asked, not believing the words that she spoke just a few seconds before.

"I-I was afraid." She answered shortly, trying her best to not break down in front of her parents, in front of Gobber, in front of Stoick, the chief of the village. Her lower lip quietly trembling, a few tears flowing slowly down her face. She left them there. It wasn't like they hadn't noticed she was almost crying a minute ago. What was the point to hide it anymore? It wasn't like she could just walk away with her honor unblemished. She felt ashamed, she felt sad, but most of all, she was afraid. The strong Astrid Hofferson was afraid of being publicly executed. And that also brought other problems. She never killed a dragon or another human being, so she wasn't worth of Valhalla. Now she didn't only have to worry about her _life_, she also had to worry about her _afterlife_.

"Do you know where he is now?" Stoick asked her, visibly trying to calm down. She silently shook her head, releasing another small sob. She knew Stoick was angry. She knew that Stoick hated her at this moment. And she was also pretty sure that he was angry at Hiccup right now. But she wasn't worried for Hiccup right now, she was more worried for her life.

"Astrid, can you leave us a few minutes?" Her father asked. She silently nodded, getting up from the chair she stood and walking back to her room quickly wiping away her tears.

This was bad.

This was very bad.

If she was a sheep and two Monstrous Nightmares were brutally eating her, it would've still been way better than her current situation.

She entered her room, carefully closing the door after her. She sat near the bed, leaning on its wooden frame, slowly bringing her knees to her chest, burying her face in them. Then she stopped holding herself and started crying. Astrid was crying. She was feeling sad, miserable and scared. Very, very scared.

This was not the future she had been promised.

She was supposed to become a great shield-maiden. A great warrior. A strong and brave dragon hunter.

This is not what she saw in her future. This could very well be her last week. Damn, this could very well be her last day. And she was _afraid_. She hated the fact that she was helpless. There was nothing left to do now. Only to wait. She couldn't even try to run anymore. They would notice if she climbed out her window, and even if they didn't, the whole village was awake at this hour and they would notice that she'd been crying. And everyone knew that Astrid Hofferson didn't cry, so that would raise suspicion and she wouldn't be able to get away. Maybe they would forgive her. Maybe they would let her stay on Berk cleaning the Great Hall, or cooking food for all the vikings who ate there. At least she would be alive, humiliated, but alive. Or even if they were going to execute her, she hoped that at least it would be fast, a quick decapitation would do. Well, not really, but it was better than the Blood Eagle.

Gods she hated the Blood Eagle. It wasn't fun when someone was executed that way. It was a very strict way to Valhalla. Just one moment of weakness and the respective person would be forever banned from Odin's palace. She did have a lot of scars, so she wasn't foreign to the idea of pain, but a Blood Eagle—Gods. They executed a roman commander once with a Blood Eagle. She remembers the blood flowing down the small platform, a few ribs lying near the yelling roman. She didn't even look at the whole things. After the man started yelling in a foreign language, she buried her face on her father's arm, not daring to look at the dying man anymore. But she was ten then, now she was a lot more stronger than that. But could she really resist a Blood Eagle? She would probably start crying just after the first part and then they would have to tie her hands to the wooden pillars. She would just start crying and humiliate herself further.

Why was she even thinking about this? It really wasn't helping her to calm down. It only made things worse. But the Blood Eagle was used only for archenemies and for high treason.

Shit.

She helped Hiccup, whom allied with the dragons, so that meant that she indirectly helped the dragons, their archenemies. So that meant high treason.

Things looked bad.

But she was the best teen viking, that had to count for something, right? Right? Her father was in the council, so things couldn't be _that_ bad. He wouldn't allow them to kill her. Right? He was disappointed when she lost dragon training, but not _that _disappointed to let the chief execute her. He was never a violent person. He was a strict and rough father, but he wasn't a _violent_ person. He refused a marriage contract with Snotlout, just because he knew that she hated him, so that meant that he wanted her to be happy. Which in turn meant that he didn't want her dead.

But then again, he isn't the chief. In the end, Stoick has the final word. And he just blamed her for lying. But then he believed her, which was worse.

Astrid started pacing around the room, talking to herself, her heart rate still high, completely mortified. "Shit. This is bad. This is very, very bad." She stumbled on a chair near the wall. She let an angry groan, thinking if she should smack that chair to a wall. In the end, she just sat on it. "Fucking Snotlout. Why can't he just keep his nose out of everyone else's business." But then again, isn't that what she just did? Prying her nose in Hiccup's business, leading to this situation. Leading to her sitting in her room, waiting for her demise. "After I caught him, why didn't he just went back home and write a fricking letter or something, saying 'Astrid is a nice girl. Please don't execute her because she had no idea what she was getting herself into.' Just something like that would've really helped, Hiccup, thank you very much!" She muttered to herself.

She got up from the chair and quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay, okay...Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. Now, they have no idea what happened at the cove. All they know is that I followed Hiccup in the forest and that a dragon defended him from me. And that the creature listened to him...So I pretty much called the heir of Berk a traitor and that he threw his lot in with the dragons. And I also waited until _they_ found out he was missing and already starting to interrogate people, giving him a head start, so, I helped him...Astrid, you are…an idiot..." Well, things seemed to just get worse. She helped and protected a person that committed high treason and then she returned home like nothing happened, hoping that nobody would notice. Why didn't she just say everything she knew, letting Hiccup take the whole blame. God's, she really hated him right now. "I am going to kill that son of a half troll! That..." She was saying, throwing random punches in the air, and the door opened.

Her mother was crying on the doorway.

_Oh no._

Her mother told her to come down to hear the punishment that she was going to receive.

Astrid slowly followed her mother. She was nervous. Very nervous. She didn't even tried to hide that, not that she really could. She hesitantly sat on the same chair she set before.

Everyone was staring at her. Her mother was crying. After a moments, she noticed Stoick whispering to Gobber. She was panicking. She started to quietly whisper to herself. "Please not the Blood Eagle. Please not the Blood Eagle. Please not the Blood Eagle. Please not the Blood Eagle."

Stoick noticed that and interrupted her "What are you saying?"

Astrid flinched. She quickly responded. "N-Nothing, sorry chief."

"Astrid." Gobber prompted, eliciting a response.

She glanced at each one of them, she took a deep breath, and whispered, only a little louder, "Please, not the Blood Eagle." She really hated how pathetic and hopeless she sounded. But it did seemed to trigger something in their eyes.

Astrid was young and she worked so hard to be able to be a shield-maiden, there was no denying in that. But just knowing what she wanted to do in the future, at such an age, showed signs of maturity. Showing that she grew up a lot faster than the others and showing, on numerous occasions, that she was ready to be taken fully responsible for her actions. But she shouldn't want to do that, not at that age. Just her simple request showed a lot of maturity. She shouldn't even know what a Blood Eagle is, but she already knows that she won't be able to get to Valhalla by a Blood Eagle. She already knows her limits and her fears. That was a thing not many managed to achieve.

A solid hand lands on her shoulder and Astrid looks up at her father, staying near her.

For a few moments, they all stood in silence. They all knew this was a delicate situation, with Astrid being from one of the older families and with Hiccup being the heir of the Hairy Hooligans village. Finally, Stoick said. "So, you know that you accused a person of high treason, accusing him of working with the dragon," Astrid nodded. "And then you confessed of helping him escape, by not reporting his actions immediately," Astrid looked scared at the chief, for a few moments, before she firmly nodded, "And you know that we can't just let this slip pass us?" she nodded. Things were getting worse by the second, "And you know what is the punishment for high treason?" she hesitantly nodded, trying to maintain eye contact with the chief. Slowly starting to accept a slowly and painfully death. "Therefore, by the laws of Berk and the traditions of our viking heritage, I, Stoick the Vast, chief of the Hairy Hooligans, banish you from the tribe, until you manage to kill and bring back—the traitor's head!" He said, forcing the last words out of his mouth.

Astrid was shocked. Things ended up in her favor.

She wouldn't die.

She was going to be alive. She was going to catch the end of the week.

_She wasn't going to die!_

She was so happy that she was only banished from the island.

_Wait_.

She had to leave the village. She would never be able to see her parents again, or her friends. Until she killed Hiccup. But did she want to kill him? Why not only bring him back, alive? So that he could have a fair trial. And die by the Blood Eagle. That wouldn't really be a lot better, for him, at least. Maybe it would be better if she would just kill him when she found him. Maybe that's what Stoick wanted. To spare his son from a Blood Eagle, knowing that he would have to give him one in case he would ever be captured. And in the end, if she brought his head back, the chief would allow him to go to Valhalla, if the gods agree.

To be honest, things were still looking pretty bad. But she wasn't going to die by the end of the week. Not on Berk, at least. They said that she had to leave by nightfall, so she had a lot to pack. Clothes, weapons, food.

Maybe it would've been better if she was going to get executed, that way at least she would died at home, on Berk, not in some gods forsaken place trying to find Hiccup.

After the vikings have left their house, she went to Gobber and asked him to sharpen her axe and her dagger, for one last time. She was going to miss this place. She was loved here. After all the hard work she had done over the years, she was respected here. And she was going to leave this place, her home, to give Hiccup a miserable death, then carry his remains back to the village. That might take awhile. If she would ever find him. If he was still alive. For all she knows, maybe the Night Fury, Toothless, turned against him and ate him.

After Gobber finished with her weapons, she started to say 'goodbye' to everyone in the village. But the most difficult 'goodbye' was for her parents. She pretty much stayed and hugged them for almost half a hour, but it seemed less than five minutes. They raised her to be strong. They raised her to be a viking, to kill dragons. But she was afraid, she was frighten of leaving them. She knew that she wasn't ready. She knew that she was still a little bird at their nest. And they also knew that. But they had no choice. She had to go and find Hiccup and then fight the Night Fury and then kill him. Why did it have to be a Night Fury, of all dragons? Why couldn't it be just a small Terrible Terror? The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she was pretty much banished forever. The more she realized that she would never see her parents again.

Hours passed like minutes and she finished packing. Some clothes, a dagger and a sleeping bag were in a leather backpack and some food in a smaller bag, if she would organize herself well enough, it should hold her more than a week.

She was proudly walking through the village. As proud as a person in her situation could. A white fur cloak, a gift from her father, on her back, with its small hood covering her head from the evening's cold wind. She was carrying her family axe with her left hand, over her shoulder. The backpack was on her back, over the white cloak and she was carrying the food bag in her right hand. A dagger was well hidden in her right boot, while the other was in her backpack. She slowly made her way to the docks, seeing from the distance the small boat that would take her away from home. The more she walked down the ramps, approaching the dingy, the more tense and scared she grew. Running away seemed like such a good option earlier that day; and now when she_ had_ to go away, it seemed like a terrible punishment.

Astrid hesitantly threw her bag on the boat, before she climbed in herself. She arranged the two bags and her axe in the boat, allowing her to comfortably paddle. She took one last, long look towards the village, before she started departing from it. Before she started paddling away from her home.

Now, her new life began.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	4. Opposite

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. And also thank you guys for the reviews.**

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Present day.

Hiccup just arrived at the cave and called Toothless. The dragon woke up, slightly worried about his rider and followed him.

"There is a boat coming towards the island. I want you to stay hidden in the trees and charge if something goes wrong. But first go and find Ild and Blad and tell them to stay hidden as well." Hiccup wouldn't be taken by surprise this time. He ran toward the beach and hid near a big tree. He had his new bow with him and about fifteen arrows, more than enough in case things go south.

After he noticed Toothless jumping on a tree near him, he knew they were ready. He crouched near the tree, still hidden in a small bush near it, and looked at the dingy approaching the shore.

Soon the boat was close enough to distinguish a small individual sailing in it. The respective person didn't seemed to be very big or muscular, he dared to say that this lone viking might even be a _hiccup_, like himself. But he wasn't a _hiccup_ anymore, not psychologically at least. He learned how to hunt out of necessity. He protected his home from intruders. He even killed a man. If he returned to Berk now, he wouldn't be treated like a _hiccup_. He still wouldn't be the best viking around, but at least he wasn't a _hiccup_.

Finally, the boat arrived ashore. He discretely watched the young person getting out of the dingy, then dragging the small boat on the beach, preventing it from being taken by the waves. He studied the mysterious person. The intruder wore a large white fur cloak, clumsy wrapped around its body, trying to provide some warm. The cloak also providing the intruder with a small hood, covering most of its head, preventing Hiccup from noticing any details that might reveal his or her true identity. The mysterious person made some annoyed grunts, trying to drag the dingy on the beach, in the end cursing some god. The voice sounded very feminine. So the intruder was a woman, most likely around his age by the looks of her. The girl turned around and looked slightly sad at the forest, not noticing him. Then he saw that she had blonde hair and a rather small face, her eyes looked sad and tired, but even so, she was beautiful. She seemed to mutter some words to herself before turning and wanting to take something from the small boat.

This seemed like the perfect occasion to make his presence noticed. So Hiccup got up from the bush, preparing his bow and pointing it at the intruder. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He yelled at the girl.

"That is none of your god damned... " She started to yell in response, grabbing her axe and turning around to face her opponent. But she stopped once she recognized him. "Hiccup?!"

"A-Astrid?! Wha... What are you doing here?!" Hiccup asked, visibly surprised by her presence, but not entirely in a bad way. He was happy about her finding him, also confused, but mostly happy. The simple fact that she found him showed that some _people_ cared about him.

"What am I doing here?! What are _you_ doing here?!" Astrid yelled back, sharing his excitement. For a few moments, she actually forgot her initial mission. For a few moments, she was just happy to see a familiar face.

"I live here." Hiccup responded.

"You live here? Since when?"

"I found island two months ago."

_Two months ago? _That was when he ran from Berk. That was when she was sent to kill him. Suddenly, all the stress and memories accumulated in the past two months got back to her. She was banished from Berk because of _him._ Astrid frowned at that thought. She _had _to kill him in order to see the village again. In order to see her parents again.

"So...Uhm...What happened to you in the past two months?" Hiccup asked, awkwardly rubbing his neck.

"What happened in the past two months?! I was too fucking busy worrying about my damned life to pay attention to that!" Astrid yelled angrily at him, making Hiccup flinch. Just seeing him like that, alone on an island after two months just made her angrier than she already was. She went through Helheim in the past two months, sleeping in that fricking dingy on cold nights with only the freezing wind singing to her. She had to go from island to island and hunt for her food. She was almost killed by dragons and wild animals and even by vikings. And Hiccup just greeted her looking fine and dandy, being content with the world. This was all _his _fault.

"Why? What happened?" Hiccup asked, confused and worried by her answer.

"What happened?! I am going to tell you what the fuck happened! I helped you! That's what happened!" She yelled again, pointing accusatory towards him.

"B-But you didn't help me with anything!"

"I let you go! And because I felt bad for how I treated you before I tried to hide the fact that you ran with _a dragon_. But guess what?! They found out that I lied. And they didn't like that! Not one, fucking, bit!" Astrid kept yelling, now gesticulating with her hands, trying to enhance her explication.

"What happened next?"

"They wanted to execute me for helping a traitor!" Hiccup widened his eyes in surprise at her response. He just left Berk and _now_ he was a traitor. _Things were a lot better than he expected._ Now he was almost certain that he would never be able to return to his home village even if he wanted to. But _why_ would he want to? The only real problem with him being a traitor was the possibility to motivate some vikings to try and capture him, giving him a slow and agonizing death. Well, he wasn't really alright with that idea. But other than that, the status of traitor didn't really changed anything else.

"Wait, what?" Hiccup asked, visibly surprised, after he took a few moments to let all the information sink in. "They wanted to execute you?!"

"YES!" She yelled "And only because _you_ committed high treason and _I_ helped you! I just had to follow you to that stupid cove and find out about your stupid dragon. This is all _your_ fault!" She said stomping the dirt, pointing at him at the final statement.

"Sorry for not being able to be the punching bag of the entire village, just so that you could be happy with the world." He replied sarcastically, unimpressed by her yelling.

"AND NOW THEY BANISHED ME UNTIL I KILL YOU!" She finished.

"That's okay, I can help... Wait, what?! They sent you to kill me?!" Now things were really taking a turn for the worse, as if that was possible.

"Yes!" Astrid confirmed, slightly leaning on the boat, trying to calm herself.

"So what are you going to do?" Hiccup asked, wanting to find out her real intentions, so that he could know how to precede.

"I really don't know... To be completely honest, it's our fault for ignoring you, in the end forcing you to befriend a dragon, committing high treason, and dragging me down with you. I don't want to kill you, but that might the only way for me to ever see my parents and Berk again..." She said, weighing the decisions she had to make. Her family and friends, or some runt that did nothing but cause trouble. "I hope you understand the situation you put me into..." She finished, looking apologetic at him.

"Well, if you want to kill me, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Hiccup stated with a serious tone.

"And what if I don't want to leave?" She asked, mocking his guts while putting a hand on her hips. Who does _he_ think he is?

"Then _I_ am going to have to kill _you_." He answered promptly.

"And what makes you think that you can defeat me?" Astrid asked, almost laughing at him, readying her axe, preparing to charge at him. Hiccup made a signal with his hand and the Night Fury jumped from a tree, landing near the boy.

_Oh_. _Shit._

Astrid had forgotten about the Night Fury. To be honest, after only two weeks of searching she actually lost all hope to ever find Hiccup, so she kind of just accepted the idea of never seeing Berk again. So she never came up with a plan to defeat a Night Fury and actually killing Hiccup.

"And if I don't want to kill you?" She asked with a fake smile, slowly lowering her axe. She already showed him that she wasn't completely trustworthy. That was a terrible approach from her part. Now all she could do is to hope that he wasn't _that_ mad at her.

"Then you are free to join me at my camp and talk about what happened in the last two months. Without the yelling and the empty threats." Hiccup calmly said, still wanting to help Astrid. He knew that she could handle herself, he never doubted her strength, but he was worried about the damage she sustained in that two months period. He was mostly sure that she was alone for that time, just traveling from one island to the next, keeping the human contact to a bare minimum. He knew how this could affect a human being, he learned that on his own skin, but he had no idea how this would affect a person like Astrid, who was used being the center of attention. In a weird way, Hiccup actually felt sorry for her.

"Yes, that would be nice." Astrid replied, getting the leather backpack from the small boat and carefully approaching Hiccup.

They walked in silence for almost five minutes. Neither one of them wanting to say a word. Astrid slightly ashamed by her inadvertent and rushed thinking; and Hiccup still wasn't completely sure about her real intentions. As they reached a cave hidden by a tree and a few bushes, Astrid noticed a small pool of dried blood.

"What happened here?" She asked, pointing at the dried blood on the dirt.

"It's just…let's not talk about that..." She found that weird, but she accepted the fact that he didn't trust her and he wasn't that happy with her being around. So she just ignored the problem.

They entered the cave. Only a little light managed to sneak past the vegetation at the entrance. She carefully followed Hiccup's steps, taking a right after him, noticing an almost extinguished fireplace at the end of the cave with a sleeping bag near it. She also noticed two Terrible Terrors following them in the cave, but they seemed friendly, not showing any hostile behavior towards Hiccup or her. Two dragons she probably saw for the first time left a better first impression than she did with Hiccup now.

"It's not much, but it's home. Toothless sleeps near the left wall, where you can see burn marks on the ground, Ild and Blad sleep near Toothless, so you can put your sleeping bag almost anywhere you want. And if you're hungry, there is still some cooked pork left. There are a few flask with water near the firewood, there. The water is fresh, I only filled them today." Hiccup said, grabbing a few small logs and putting them on the fireplace.

"Thanks." Astrid said with a small smile "So the two Terrors are Ild and Blad? Which is which?"

"Ild is the red one and Blad is the green one. They are pretty friendly once they get comfortable around you. And they are also pretty useful, hunting small birds and gathering wild berries." Hiccup explained, looking at Toothless reigniting the fireplace.

"That's good to know." She said while dropping her backpack near the fire and preparing her sleeping bag. They stood in silence for a few minutes. Changing a few small glances from time to time. Once she finished arranging her sleeping bag, she sat on top of it, untying her fur cloak and wrapping it around her, trying to warm herself.

"So, how did you manage to get here?" Hiccup asked, trying to start a conversation.

"I was just moving from island to island, trying to find a village that would accept an exiled shield-maiden in training, or even a mercenary camp to become a sell-sword. But most of the people I met tried to rob me when they saw that I was alone. Not to mention the numerous times when I had to hide from dragons or wild animals. It really sucked."

"I'm sorry I caused that..."

"It wasn't your fault. It was wrong on my part to blame you for everything. Well, I did catch you with a dragon, but it was my fault for following you. So I kind of deserved what happened..."

"No you didn't..." Hiccup said, more to himself.

"Anyway/" Astrid said after a few minutes of silence. "What have _you_ been doing for the past two months?"

"I discovered this island about two months ago. I settled in with the three dragons, then I made myself a bow and I started hunting boars. I also managed to hit flying birds, so I got pretty good at it." Hiccup said proudly.

"Hiccup the Hunter." Astrid said, sharing a small, rather forced and uncomfortable laugh with Hiccup. "Can I see your bow?"

"Sure." Hiccup handed Astrid his bow and within a few seconds from looking at it she noticed it was a roman bow. How had Hiccup managed to get a _roman_ bow? He said that _he_ made a bow, but she was pretty sure that Hiccup wasn't able to make a bow that looked so much like a roman one, especially in the wildness, alone.

"Hiccup, you know this is a roman bow, right?" His face dropped when he remembered what he went through to 'win' this weapon. "How did you manage to get something like this?" Astrid asked. She noticed that he grew uncomfortable at that question, but she didn't really care right now. This could be a very serious matter. He could've raided a roman ship or camp and she knew that those stinky dogs held a grudge for a long time, so they might attack them if they would somehow found Hiccup. The more she thought about it, the idea of Hiccup raiding the romans seemed more plausible. After all, he did have a Night Fury.

"I...I had to kill someone for it." He slowly stated, with a very sad expression. Astrid laughed. He wasn't expecting her to buy that story, right? She knew that Hiccup couldn't hurt a person, but killing one, it was ridiculous. He wasn't a warrior. He wasn't even a fighter. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to kill someone.

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you? You weren't able to kill a pinned dragon that attacked our village for years and you're trying to say that you killed another _human_ for a silly bow?"

He didn't respond. He was looking lost in the flames. The face of the dead man kept appearing in front of him. "Hiccup?" Astrid said, making him to look at her with a very hurt expression. Then she slowly realized that the situation was a lot more dire than she thought. She knew that the first human kill always had a powerful effect on some people. And by Hiccup's reaction, she started to regret that she doubted him and just worsened the situation. Then she insulted him. Gods. She felt horrible...

Toothless also noticed his human's reaction. He noticed that Astrid made his rider sad. He noticed that even after his human tried to be a good host and provide cover for her, she insulted him. After he almost got past that event, she just had to bring back the past, destroying all the progress Hiccup did, making him sad again. The Night Fury would not stand for something like that. He wanted to hurt the girl for making his rider sad, again.

"Hiccup, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like an insult. I...I just didn't believe you had the will to do something like that. And I should've known better. I just thought..." Astrid started to apologize, but she soon stopped noticing that Hiccup wasn't even looking at her anymore. He trusted her. He politely invited her to his camp, offering her food, water and shelter, asking for nothing in return, and she managed to destroy the little trust he managed to place on her, by humiliating him. And the fact that Toothless was angry at her wasn't really helping her situation. The dragon was growling low, slowly approaching the girl, but Astrid was more worried about Hiccup than about the Night Fury.

Before Toothless managed to strike Astrid, Hiccup calmly said, "Toothless, stop. She didn't know about that. I'll get over it, one day. Just...Just leave her alone." The dragon stopped, then he sat behind Astrid, notifying her of his presence, almost daring her to do something like that again. After that Hiccup turned his back at her, trying to forget about their conversation and about that horrible event.

"I guess that's the end of this conversation..." Astrid muttered to herself, trying to get in her sleeping bag, but Toothless nudged her. "What do you want?" She asked quietly, trying not to further disturb Hiccup. The dragon nudged her again and then looked at the exit of the cave. "You want me to follow you?" Toothless nodded and then he exited the cave. Astrid glanced at Hiccup when she heard a muffed sob. Now he was trying to retain his remaining honor, trying to be as quiet as possible. She really felt bad about this. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said any of those things..." Astrid said, loud enough for Hiccup to hear, then she got up and followed Toothless outside the cave. When they were both outside, Toothless pointed at the dried blood near the entrance. "Are you going to show me who Hiccup killed?" She asked quietly, wrapping the fur cloak tighter around her, and the dragon nodded.

They walked through the forest for twenty minutes. It was dark outside and the fact that she never saw this place before didn't help her orientation. So she had to trust the dragon, the dragon that wanted to kill her not even a hour ago. What if that was what he was doing? He was making her follow him so that he can kill her somewhere where Hiccup wouldn't find her body. She gulped, looking worried at the dragon. "You aren't going to kill me, right?" She asked, making the dragon look annoyed at her, before he shook his head. "Thanks." Astrid responded, releasing a breath in relief. Finally they arrived at a small pit. The first thing she noticed was a horrible scent coming from inside the pit, her curiosity took the best of her as she approached the edge of the hole, looking down at a decaying body. After a few seconds of looking at it, she noticed an arrow through its neck, most likely what killed him. So that's why Hiccup didn't even have a scar after he killed someone. He killed him from a distance. She stood there, not being able to get her eyes from the rotten corpse, and she unconsciously started to pet Toothless's head. The Night Fury was outraged by this, so he growled at her, making her retreat her hand scared.

"Sorry, I didn't meant to...I just... sorry." Toothless ignored her excuses and turned around to return to the cave. She followed him. After they arrived, she just got in her sleeping bag, covered herself with her fur cloak, and tried to sleep. She was hoping that Hiccup would feel better in the morning. Maybe he would even forgive her. But she knew the chances were very dim for that to happen.

The following morning, Astrid woke up, awkwardly stretching, not getting up from her sleeping bag. She turned on her side and noticed the two Terrible Terrors staring at her. They both looked slightly unpleased by her presence in the cave. Well, that made sense since she just made their 'chief' very mad the previous night, on the first day since she got here.

"Morning." She gave each one a look. "You must be Ild, and you Blad." She extended her hand, trying to pet them, but they just ran away. That was sad, she was alone for the last two months and after she managed to find Hiccup, she screwed things up. His dragons didn't like her, maybe he was going to ask her to leave and she was going to be all alone again. All she wanted was to be accepted somewhere. Now she understood how Hiccup felt, being labeled by others and not being able to do anything about it. But he had to go through that his whole life, she had to for only two months, thus far. Contrary with what everyone said, Hiccup was a very strong person. Most likely, he was a lot stronger than her. She would never admit it, but in the last month, after being sent away from her sixth or seventh village, she used to spent the nights just aimlessly floating on her dingy, crying herself to sleep, feeling more sad and humiliated after every village that she'd been to and sent away. At least she wasn't insulted daily, like Hiccup was. If she had been in Hiccup's situation on Berk, she was sure that she would've snapped at some point, ending up killing someone, or worse. She really hoped that he wasn't going to send her away, even if that's what she most likely deserved.

She got up from her sleeping bag and started her morning exercises, awakening her muscles and trying to distract her mind from sad thoughts. After twenty minutes she felt like it was enough for this morning, so she wanted to take her axe and go find Hiccup and talk to him. She looked at the fireplace, where she left it, but she was slightly surprised when her axe wasn't there. _Hiccup must have took it, not trusting me after I told him that I have to kill him. I can't really blame him for that. _She thought. She then turned around, noticing the Night Fury, Toothless, holding her axe under his paw.

"Hey Toothless?" She asked quietly, trying to wake the dragon. She wanted to get her axe, but also needed to be cautious about how she approached the Night Fury, since she never saw a dragon wake up before, so she had no idea if he might be aggressive when he woke up or something. Prior to this night, she had never been this close to a dragon, or for so long. "Do you mind giving my axe back?" Toothless half opened one of his eyes, then he turned his head the other way, "Don't be like that, I need that axe to protect myself." she said again, trying to show her calmness, but she was getting angrier by the second. Her father gave her that axe. It was in the family for five generations, now it was under a dragon, it was stolen from her by Toothless and he wasn't about to give it back. "That axe is very important to me, it's the last thing I have from my parents. Can you just give it back? I promise not to hurt Hiccup with it!" She said again almost yelling.

"Astrid, I see you're up, how did you sleep?" Hiccup asked, walking towards the fireplace, making her turn around and face him.

"I was fine until your dragon stole my axe. Can you tell him to give it back?"

"Are you going to kill me with it?" Hiccup asked sarcastically.

"Hiccup, if I wanted to kill you then I would've done so last night and by this time I would have been...".

"Maimed by Toothless who would have killed you slowly enjoying every moment of it. Don't underestimate a Night Fury. And don't try something stupid that you will regret." Hiccup interrupted, coldly threatening her. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was threatening _her_. He was not the son of the chief anymore and he had the guts to do that. So what if he had a dragon? She could still defeat him in a fair fight. But then she would be killed by his dragons and she wouldn't be able to see her parents again because she would be dead. But _he_ threatened _her_. Who did he think he was?

"I could still defeat you in combat and you know that! That's why you hide behind your dragons all the time, you are too afraid to take matters into your own hands! You're just a coward! Always have been. Always will be."

_Oh no._

In this time away from other vikings she forgot everything about human interactions. It's almost like she is trying to get herself killed or banished again.

She recoiled quickly, "Hiccup, I'm so sorry, I was mad and I didn't mean it. I..." And yet again, her temper getting the best of her and she might die in a few moments, or worse, be sent again on her own.

"Why did you come here?" Hiccup asked her. He was sad, he wasn't facing her, maybe to not show her that he was still weak. He was not the same as he was two months ago, but he was still a _hiccup, _after all. The only power he had came from his dragons. But he won that power. He won the right of befriending dragons by sheer power of will. That made him stronger than everyone else. But in a way, he was still weak.

"I was hoping to start a new life, after I had been banished from Berk." She answered honestly, trying to mend their relation.

"When I first saw you, I was happy, I thought that someone was still searching for me, still caring for me. But you were just lost. You were searching for me, but for a very different reason. Even after you told me that, I tried to help you, I tried to protect you. You had been alone for two months, I had been alone for most of my years and I know the pain. Trust me, I do. So why do you try to insult me and threaten me after I just tried to help you?"

He was right, he didn't deserve that. She didn't deserved to be helped by the person she ignored most of her life. "Can I have my axe back? I will be out of your hair soon enough." She spoke, accepting that she screwed things up beyond repair this time, the only friend she could possibly have now, hated her. After just one day he hated her. She didn't want to return to the loneliness. She didn't want to return to the calm and silent sea. She just wanted to have a place to call home. But she was too stubborn to accept help from the only person that had the possibility of helping her.

"You are not going anywhere." Hiccup sighed.

"I don't want to make you suffer. I never helped you. You were doing fine until I came here. I don't want to be a burden... " The girl said while looking on the ground, starting to pack things up.

"Then don't be. Go and hunt. Teach me how to fight. Help me protect the dragons." Hiccup said, turning to face her. He was still sad, but it seemed that he had thought a lot about this offer.

"I will make you miserable..." Astrid quietly said.

"That's not important, I don't want to put another person through what I have been for years in Berk."

"Hiccup, don't try to sacrifice yourself for me. Not after everything that happened…" She begged.

The Night Fury was holding Astrid's axe in his mouth, silently watching the two teens. Hiccup's decision seemed stupid to him. He knew that this girl hurt him a lot in the past; and she is still hurting him now. But he still wanted to help her. _Why?_

"I will put Toothless to break your legs so you can't leave." Hiccup said with his sarcastic tone.

Astrid was silent.

There wasn't anything else she could say, maybe she would try to sneak away at night so she wouldn't see the boy suffer for her. This is all just wrong. Hiccup is a nice guy, he didn't deserved most of the things that happened to him over the years. His father marked him for high treason. All the people on Berk insulted him. Not even the other teens tried to be friends with him. He just had a terrible life, this could be his only chance to be happy, to live with dragons and train them, and she was just an obstacle in his life and to his happiness.

Then Toothless realized. Hiccup needed Astrid as a proof of his progress, as proof that he got over Berk. He had a crush on her for years, even he noticed that, but what worried him was Astrid's capacity to hurt his rider, his _friend_.

"Astrid, I need to help humans understand dragons; and for that I need to be a good fighter, so I can protect the dragons and myself. You were one of the best warriors on Berk and I believe in your ability as a fighter. I can train you to understand dragons if you want, but I need your help." As Hiccup finished his little speech, Astrid's face started to light up a little.

"Do you really mean it?" She said, looking at him. Looking hopefully in his eyes, trying to be sure that he wasn't lying just to make her feel better. That's all she wanted. A friend. A way to make up for all her past mistakes towards Hiccup.

"Yes." His eyes were telling the truth. And with that Astrid jumped to hug Hiccup. Toothless was taken by surprise by her sudden move and tried to jump to block Astrid. In the end, he managed to knock both of them down.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.** **I know that I am not the best writer out there, so if you don't understand some ideas or if I made some mistakes explaining stuff, please point the problems out or ask me about them.**


	5. Storm

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. And also thank you guys for the reviews.**

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Hiccup was actually looking forward for their training. He could finally learn how to defend himself if needed. His archery training was not enough to be called a warrior, even if he was good at it, he could have die if the enemy was close and he was without his dragons. He wasn't _that_ foreign to melee weapons, after all, he was a blacksmith apprentice and he forged weapons, repaired weapons, but not really used them. Today he would learn how to fight.

The two teens were walking to the beach, where Astrid's dingy was, because she thought that that could be a decent training area. There was plenty of space, pretty even terrain and not a lot of trees.

"How do you want me to train you? You have no real weapons except you bow." Astrid pointed out.

"I also have a dagger, but I never used one in combat."

"You have a dagger and didn't tell me about it? Why?" She asked, turning to face him.

"I didn't thought it was an important information." Hiccup answered , making Astrid sigh, annoyed.

"You'll use my axe."

"Would you really let me use your axe? I-I know it's very important to you. I mean, a-are you sure about that?" Hiccup asked slightly worried. The axe was a heavy weapon, and Astrid used a double edged axe, making it even heavier. And since he wasn't a very strong person he wasn't entirely sure he could handle an axe. Especially an axe that had been in Astrid's family for generations and was very important to her.

"Hiccup, please don't make me change my mind." Astrid said while effortlessly throwing her axe to Hiccup so he could use it, but the boy panicked at the sight of an axe coming at him and quickly dodged it. "For Thor's sake Hiccup. Can we start training already?" She asked annoyed.

Hiccup quickly recovered and picked the axe from the ground.

"Good. Now hit me!" She said while getting in a more defensive stance.

"What?" Hiccup asked her, looking really confused at her.

"You must learn how to move with a weapon in your hand, and that means that you have to learn to swing a weapon. So go on!" Astrid calmly explained, not getting out of her stance.

"Shouldn't I hit a tree or something, I mean until I get used to the weapon. Or throwing the axe." Hiccup quickly suggested. He could hurt the only human that didn't want him dead. Well maybe. But he could break her axe which will result in a lot of pain for him; and he really wanted to avoid being hunt down by Astrid especially after she agreed to train him.

"And then what am I supposed to do? Look at you cutting down trees? And you want to throw an axe? You can barely hold one in your hands. "Astrid said, pointing to his grip. "This way I can practice my dodging and you can attack a moving target. It's a win-win situation."

"If you say so..." Hiccup responded, moving closer to Astrid.

"Good, now hold the axe in your right hand. Hold the weapon tight by the handle, be sure to have a strong grip and once you feel ready, try and hit me."

"But what if I _do_ hit you?" Hiccup asked trying to get this problem of his head.

"Hiccup, if you manage to hit me, I will swim all the way back to Berk and kiss Snotlout." Astrid responded annoyed.

"That would be something." He responded sarcastically.

"Just attack me already!" She yelled at him. Hiccup took a few deep breaths, then charged at her, trying to take a swing at her. But Astrid simply walked out of the way, making him stumble and almost fall to the ground.

"How did you…?" He asked visibly surprised by her speed.

"I told you that you couldn't manage to hit me." Astrid answered with a mocking smile.

"So, this is how it's going to be." Hiccup said before charging again. He tried to make two quick swings, but the girl managed to dodge again.

For about three hours, Hiccup tried to hit Astrid without success. In the end, he fell to the ground exhausted. Even Astrid was a little tired, she didn't expect the boy to have so much stamina, but he worked for years in a blacksmith, so he was supposed to have some endurance and muscles. She had to admit that it was rather impressing. If he could train him like this for one or two months, he would end up a decent fighter. Not good enough to be a problem for most vikings, but enough to survive until help arrived. She needed a lot more time than that to train Hiccup to be at least as good as Snotlout. but Hiccup had the brain, which the other boy lacked, maybe in a fair fight he would defeat Snotlout. Well, not a fair fight, but in a fight where Hiccup could outthink Snotlout.

"Enough for today." Astrid said starting to walk "Let's go back to the cave and eat something."

"I...just...need...a...moment..." Hiccup said, panting, lying on the ground.

"You can't possibly be that tired, you did nothing but swing an axe." She replied annoyed, turning around and looking slightly amused at Hiccup lying exhausted.

"Just... let me rest..."

"Yeah, sure, take your time." Astrid said sarcastically, getting her axe from near Hiccup and sitting at the shadow of a tree. It wasn't even noon. After they woke up and had breakfast, they went training. They still had a lot of time until evening. "What are we going to do for the rest of the day? Do we still have food or should we go hunting? If you want you can teach me how to use a bow." Astrid said trying to fill her program for the rest of the day.

Hiccup was slowly getting up.

"I don't think we have any more food...so yes, we should go hunting... Also, my old bow it's still at the cave...and if you really want me to help you, we should go get it." Taking a few deep breaths, slowly recovering from his exhaustion. Finally, he managed to get up and walk to where she was sitting."

"Sounds good. Let's go." Astrid said when she noticed him.

They both headed to the cave where Toothless was sleeping. Ild and Blad where playing at the entrance of the cave. They still didn't trust Astrid. To them she was just a stranger. A stranger that hurt Hiccup in the past, but now she was here, near Hiccup. But the boy trusted her, so they had to be nice, for his sake.

"Hey Toothless! We're back. Let me guess, you're sleeping again." Hiccup said. The dragon didn't even bother to respond. Hiccup went and grabbed two flasks and the bows with ten arrows. It was more than enough for some practice and for hunting a boar. After almost half a hour of resting and eating some leftovers, they went in the forest.

They walked in silence, looking for a game, but the forest seemed empty. They walked until they reached a clearing. The midday sun was shining through the leaves, pleasantly illuminating the clearing. There was still no sight of any animal, making the place look surprisingly peaceful.

"This place looks good enough." Hiccup said, taking a few arrows out from his quiver.

"Good enough for what?" Astrid asked looking confused at him.

"You can train with the bow here, there is a lot of space and if we are lucky, an animal might walk through here. I will go place some traps. You just try to shoot that tree." The boy said, pointing at a tree on the other side of the clearing. With that being said, Hiccup gave Astrid his old bow and a few of his old arrows, the ones he made. Those arrows weren't that balanced, but they would do the job, as a former intruder found out.

Then he walked away from her, wanting to place some traps in the meantime. Hiccup knew how to place traps. Gobber taught him about this and he had a lot of practice while he was on this island. He might have found out how to make traps on his own in the end, but the fact that Gobber explained him the mechanics and psychics of all the parts of a trap helped. This time he decided to place some simple ,non lethal traps, only to catch some boars. He made a simple snare with some rope, if everything would go according to the plan, some boars will get stuck in the ropes and then they will have dinner.

After five well placed traps, Hiccup returned to Astrid. She was cursing the bow and the trees, and pretty much everything she laid eyes on.

"So, how are you doing?" He asked, slowly approaching her.

"This damned bow is broken." Astrid answered annoyed, throwing the bow to the ground.

"Let me see." Hiccup picked the bow from the ground, took an arrow from Astrid and positioned himself so that he was looking at the tree. He slowly raised the bow with his left hand, placed the arrow on the string and pulled the string until it was touching his cheek. And he released it. The arrow went flying and hit the tree.

"How did you do that?" Astrid asked, amazed by his skill.

"It's not even that difficult. Let me see how you shoot." Hiccup replied, giving back her bow.

Astrid took an arrow and positioned it on the string, looking at the tree. Meanwhile, Hiccup took a few steps back, to see what she did wrong. Astrid lifted the bow with her left hand, just like Hiccup did, she pulled the string until it was touching her cheek. And she released it. The arrow missed the tree by a lot, making her sigh in frustration, before throwing the bow on the ground once again.

"Why? WHY?! I did exactly like you did! So why I can't hit that stupid tree?" She yelled, trying to hit an invisible foe with her fists.

"The problem is in your aim. Try closing you right eye so you can see better. And also, you must learn to calm yourself. It took me about two weeks to be able to kill a boar with the bow. So you still have time." Hiccup calmly explained.

"I will kill a damned boar in three days. Tops." Astrid said, trying to recover some of her confidence.

"Astrid," Hiccup said sarcastically. "if you manage to kill three boar, within the next three _weeks_, with _that_ bow, I will go back to Berk and surrender myself."

"Why would you do that?" Astrid asked, surprised by what Hiccup just said.

"If you manage to do that, I would die happy because I saw one of the most unbelievable things." He finished with an amused grin on his face.

"This is so on!" Astrid said, accepting the challenge.

"Now can you please give me your axe?" Hiccup asked putting on a serious face.

"And why would I do that?" Astrid answered, mocking the idea.

"Because otherwise you will have to make your own bow and arrows." Hiccup said with a cunning tone. Astrid's face slightly dropped. She already accepted the challenge, so if he took her bow, she would have to make a new one and also had to make arrows, this would take a lot of time from her practice.

The boy that was one of the biggest disappointments in the viking history, was now playing her like he wanted. _When did Hiccup became so clever, and cunning? How did this happened? Was he this way before, but nobody noticed because they were all ignoring him?_

"You cunning little fox..." Astrid said rather annoyed, but also surprised by the boy who was standing in front of her.

"So I take that as a yes?" Hiccup asked sarcastically with a small smile.

"Yes..." Astrid answered defeated and throwing her axe at Hiccup. This time, Hiccup didn't jumped trying to dodge the weapon that was coming to him, but he stood his ground and with a quick move from his arm, Hiccup caught the axe.

"Thanks." He simply replied, walking in the forest with her axe.

So Astrid was left alone to practice with her bow. She was still bad. When she managed to hit the tree, it wasn't with enough force to get the arrow stuck in the tree. When she used more force, she missed the tree and had to go and look for the arrow. It was a disaster. If she had her axe now, she would start chopping down the entire forest. She just hoped that Hiccup didn't break it or something like that. That would be the only thing that could ruin her day more.

Meanwhile, Hiccup was in the forest hitting trees. He kept changing hands, so he wouldn't get tired as fast. He didn't really like the axe, he preferred a sword. The axe was too heavy for him, it was annoying, but at least it was a weapon. So it would have to do.

He really preferred light weapons. He always thought that he was quite handy, but a series of unfortunate events and a lot of bad luck stopped the world from seeing that, or maybe he was really that clumsy. But he managed to use both of his hands with the same dexterity. He still preferred his left arm over the right one, but he had created a lot of weapons and armor in the forge using both of his hands equally, managing to do pretty much everything with both his hands. Once he even considered trying to dual wield two swords, but he failed not knowing how to properly use even one sword. But that was still on his 'to do' list.

They kept practicing in different parts of the forest for a few hours. Hiccup started heading to the camp, he was exhausted and the camp wasn't very near.

They walked for about twenty minutes until they found that clearing and Hiccup walked another ten minutes so he wouldn't be disturbed by Astrid's angry yells. So he had to walk for about an hour back to the camp on his current state. He was hoping that they would meet somewhere on the way back so that Astrid could take back her heavy axe. He walked panting for about twenty minutes, then he decided to take a break. He sat at the shadow of a tree, drinking from his flask. There were more than four hours until the sun came down.

He could take a small nap there, the place was relative safe. Then he remembered, Astrid was here for only two days and she had no idea how to return to the camp. Now he had to walk all the way back and hope that she was still there. He groaned in frustration and got up, walking towards the clearing where he left her.

"Why can't I hit that stupid tree with those fucking arrows. Why?" Astrid yelled. She was there for hours and she hadn't made a lot of progress. Most of the time she wasted by walking through the forest to get her arrows back, she even managed to break one arrow, but she kept the arrowhead, hoping that Hiccup could repair it. She slowly started to walk back to the camp. She was angry. Angry at the forest, angry at the bow, angry at the arrows.

Astrid was slowly walking to the camp when she heard a movement in the trees. She got her dagger from her boot and started walking to the noise. It was a boar. It got stuck in one of Hiccup's traps. She was a little surprised. Hiccup managed to create a very efficient trap and actually catch something with it. He managed to master the bow and survive on his own for two months, maybe he wasn't as 'useless' as everyone said. She approached the boar and killed it. She then slowly started to untie the rope that the pig got stuck into. She then got the boar on her back and the rope around her right shoulder and started walking back to the camp. Astrid realized that she didn't know were Hiccup placed the rest of the traps, so she started to be walk little more careful. If she got stuck in one, things could go bad. She had no idea what animals were on this island. There could be wolves or bears, and if she got stuck in one of his traps she would be an easy prey.

After about ten minutes of walking they met. Hiccup noticed the boar on Astrid's back and asked her "How did you kill this boar?"

Astrid shrugged with a smirk. "I killed it with the bow. Guess you have to swim back to Berk now huh?"

"What!?" He shrieked.

"Oh calm down, I'm kidding. It got stuck on one of your traps. I heard it while walking back to the camp."

"You...Scared me..." He simply stated.

"You'll get over it." She replied, walking pass him.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Hiccup said, trying to start a conversation. "At least now we have food."

"Yup."

"Need any help carrying it?"

"No, I'm fine, let's just keep going." She said, taking her axe from Hiccup.

After about thirteen minutes they got back to the camp.

"So we are finally here." Hiccup pointed out. They were tired from all the training and walking they had to do, the boar that Astrid carried didn't help her either.

"Let's skin this boar and start cooking. I hadn't ate anything since morning." Astrid said. They slowly walked in the cave. It was quiet. A little too quiet. Blad and Ild were always noisy, they were always playing and burning things, but now they weren't.

"Hiccup, where are your dragons?" Astrid asked, noticing the extinguished fire.

"They are probably sleeping." He said, he unequipped his quiver and his bow, tossing them near the pile of firewood. Astrid gently threw the boar on the ground and threw her bow near her sleeping bag, while carefully putting her axe down near it.

"Can you light the fire?" Hiccup asked Astrid while he got his dagger and approached the boar to skin it.

"Do you actually know how to properly skin a boar?" The girl asked, trying to light the fire with a flint. Soon the small fire started to light up the cave, and she got a few bigger logs and carefully arranged them on the fireplace. Then she started looking around the cave, noticing the dragons sleeping on what Hiccup said was their usual place. "There they are." She muttered, looking at the creatures sleeping peacefully. Then she noticed something light blue near Toothless. "Hiccup, can you get over here?".

"Why?" The boy asked confused, getting up from near the boar.

When Toothless heard the humans talking, he raised his head, looking sleepy at them. He slowly got up, trying not to disturb the other dragons, and walked towards Hiccup, with an almost sad face.

"What's wrong bud?" Hiccup asked the Night Fury, petting his head. Toothless pointed at the place he was sleeping with almost a begging face. He needed Hiccup's help with something.

"Hiccup, there is a Nadder down there. Why is a Nadder down there?!" Astrid asked, slowly backing away from the dragons and going towards her axe.

Hiccup slowly approached the Nadder, carefully examining the dragon, then he noticed that its wing its injured. It looked that only the bone was a little broken, nothing too bad, he could treat that.

"It's hurt." Hiccup pointed out.

"We need to make the dragon go!" Astrid declared, raising her axe.

"Wait? What?" Hiccup asked surprised. "Why?"

"Hiccup, there are three main reasons."

"Here we go..." The boy said sarcastically.

"First. This is a wild dragon we're talking about."

"So we will have to tame it." Hiccup said, getting between her and the Nadder.

"Second. Its is injured, we will have to feed it and take care of it." Astrid said trying to pass Hiccup and go to the Nadder.

"That is actually a good reason to keep it." Hiccup stopped her advance.

"And third. What are we going to do with another dragon?" Astrid asked, trying to make her point.

"You can ride it." Hiccup said gesturing at her.

"What?" The girl asked surprised at his declaration.

"Yes. I can help you learn how to train a dragon and it can be your first dragon. You will be the Second Dragon rider. The second person to tame a dragon." The boy said trying to make the offer sound appealing to her

"Hiccup, you know that having to hunt for your food and provide for a creature that eats like five men it's not an easy thing, right?" Astrid asked him with an almost sarcastic tone.

"Astrid, I was doing this for months before you got here. I was providing food for Toothless before I even got good at Dragon Training." Hiccup said, approaching Astrid. "Now put that axe down." He ordered.

"You don't tell me what to do!" She said, feeling almost insulted by the idea of Hiccup ordering her around.

"You live on my island. I have three dragons. I didn't kill you for all the things you did in the past. And now you are trying to tell me what to do with a dragon that is injured in MY cave?" He said, almost yelling the final sentence.

Astrid was shocked by Hiccup. He never acted like this. He never yelled at others. He never tried to order anyone around. He used to be afraid of her. He used to back away from every conflict. When did he change like this? _Why_, did he change like this? She could go so far to even say that this Hiccup scared her a little. In the past two months he did a lot of things that she wouldn't have thought of seeing him do. He tamed a dragon. He spared her life after she told him that she has to kill him. He actually allowed her to live in his cave.

"Hiccup, you changed a lot. If I wouldn't see your face, I wouldn't know you were _Hiccup_. What made you like this?" Astrid asked, a little worried, but mostly sad. No one ever ordered her around. No one yelled at her before. This was new to her. She was treated almost like an equal to most older vikings before she got here. Now she had to listen to a person that was a disgrace to her village. It wasn't the idea that of Hiccup ordering her around that annoyed her, it was the realization that he was actually right.

"I lived on Berk for fifteen years. In that time, only Gobber tried to be my friend, maybe he had to because I was his apprentice. No one respected me. No one tried to talk to me. All of you only ignored me while I was on Berk; and on those few moments when you didn't, you all insulted and humiliated me. Then I found Toothless and he accepted me for what I was. After I ran from the village, I met Blad and Ild. And they accepted me for what I am. So I am sorry if I trust dragons more than humans. So far I made more dragon friends in two months than human friends in fifteen years."

He touched a nerve.

The Nadder was slowly getting up. She was injured, but the pain wasn't enough to keep her from moving. Maybe she could still hunt by herself with her spikes or fire breath, so she wouldn't be totally useless. She felt a little bad when the Night Fury told her that he knows friendly humans that could help her, that could feed her and take care of her wing. She didn't want to accept his help, but she knew that she would've died on her own.

Astrid dropped her axe.

"Can I have the Nadder? Please?" She asked almost with a begging tone.

Hiccup was surprised. He never heard her the word 'please' coming from Astrid's mouth before. And she said 'please' to him. To help _her_ with _a dragon_. The creature that she trained most of her life to kill. She wanted _his_ help to tame _a dragon._

"Sure." Hiccup said, starting to smile a little.

"Can you teach me how to tame it?" Astrid asked him, still a little sad for what he said a few moments before, still not daring to look him in the eyes.

"First. Go and approach her. Don't make any sudden movements." And so Astrid did. She slowly approached the Nadder, trying not to be in her blind spot so she wouldn't surprise the dragon. "Now stretch your arm, until you almost touch her snout and if she trusts you she will move forward and touch your hand."

"Hiccup, are you sure about this?" Astrid asked a little worried about the possibility of her losing her hand, or even her life.

"Mostly. I didn't try it on other dragons except Toothless." Hiccup responded sarcastically.

Astrid was now just in front of the Nadder. She stretched her arm until it almost touched the dragon's nostrils. She held her breath. She turned her head away from the dragon, closing her eyes. She could feel the hot air from the dragon's nostrils on her palm. She was taking a huge _leap of faith. _She was trusting a dragon. A dragon that she never met before. She was _trusting a dragon_ that she wouldn't maim or kill her.

After a few moments that seemed like an eternity, she felt the cold scales on her hand.

In an instant, she felt connected with the dragon, like she could read the dragon's mind and the dragon could read her mind. Without them even noticing they started to sync their breathing. She slowly turned her head to face the dragon. Slowly opening one of her eyes to look at the dragon. She noticed that the dragon also closed her eyes. They both took a _leap of faith_. They both trusted each other that they wouldn't spill any blood. Now they were bounded together.

Astrid was now smiling. She was smiling like a child that got a small puppy to take care of. She was going to protect this dragon with her life, and so was the dragon going to protect her.

She hugged the Nadder.

"How are you felling?" Hiccup asked slowly approaching them.

"This. Is. Amazing." Astrid said, still hugging her dragon.

"What are you going to name it?" Hiccup asked.

"Name it?" The girl asked a little surprised by the question.

"Well of course. This is your dragon now. You must give it a name." The boy answered like it was the most obvious thing in the word.

"Stormfly! I will name her Stormfly!" Astrid responded proudly. The dragon nudged her happily.

"She seems to like it." Hiccup pointed out.

After a few minutes of silence Astrid spoke, "Hiccup, I'm sorry that I doubted you. You are a good person. And even a friend, if you want. I'm sorry that I didn't notice that a long time ago. Thanks for making me understand that dragons aren't the evil creatures the vikings think they are." She was almost breaking down in front of him. She just betrayed her family. Her village. All that she was taught since she was a child. For a pet. And for a boy she consider a screw-up, useless, disgrace to the vikings. A boy that she had to kill in order to return to Berk. A boy that literally just saved her life and showed her a whole new world.

"You are welcome." Hiccup said, not really knowing how to react to the statement Astrid made. He also noticed that her eyes getting a little wet. She was going to cry. He never saw her crying before. "I will go with Toothless to get some more food. I will get back in about an hour." He then proceeded to awkwardly back away. Leaving the girl with her dragon. He knew that her, opening herself like that, wasn't something she would likely do and he wasn't even sure that he was ready to see her cry, or to try and comfort her. This was Astrid Hofferson he was talking about. The girl that was the toughest viking he knew.

When he got out of the cave he noticed Toothless sitting near a tree. He quickly approached the Night Fury and said. "We need to get more food if we are going to have the girls living with us. Let's go hunt some boars."

Hunting with Toothless was easy. The dragon would just run and grab a boar at which Hiccup would quickly kill it with his dagger, but now he forgot his dagger in the cave. So things might get a little messy. They quickly checked the remaining traps and managed to get two boars from them. This should be enough for a few days. They also needed some wood to immobilize Stormfly's wing. It would help her heal a lot quicker, too.

Hiccup wasn't sure if Astrid calmed down yet. So he decided to drop the boars somewhere near the cave, not close enough for Astrid to hear them landing or even notice them and then take Toothless for an evening flight.

He needed to clear his mind from what happened today.

Astrid just betrayed all that vikings stood for, sure, he did that months ago, but he never really cared for traditions and stuff like that. But Astrid did. This was going to affect her. She might never be the same. He caused that. Everything that was going to happen to Astrid in the future, would be his fault and his alone.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	6. Acceptance

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. And please make sure to go and read her masterpiece _**Infernal Responsibility **_**if you haven't already**. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

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In the next morning, Astrid was sleeping covered by Stormfly's left wing. At first, when she woke, she panicked a little thinking that she had been captured by a dragon. Then she remembered. This was _her_ dragon. Her dragon was covering her with her wing. Her dragon tried to protect her from the cold of the night. The same dragon that she wanted to kill about ten hours ago, was now hugging her with her uninjured wing.

"Hey girl. How did you sleep?" Astrid asked, slowly getting up. She noticed that she was also covered by her fur cloak. The cloak that she used as a blanket since she got here. Maybe Hiccup covered her after she fell asleep. That would have been nice of him. That would mean that he cared for her, even after all she did in the past, things could get better. She placed the cloak on her sleeping bag that was near the now extinguished fire. Astrid then wanted to get her axe and have a small talk with Hiccup about yesterday. She managed to tame a dragon and that felt incredible, but now she also was a traitor to the vikings ways and her tribe, so she needed some advice from someone who was marked for high treason two months ago.

Hiccup was outside with Toothless trying to make some boards to immobilize Stormfly's right wing, he took Astrid's axe for this since he needed to make the boards somehow equal. After he almost finished making the boards, he felt a light pat on his back. Hiccup jumped, scared by the surprise touch.

"Calm down, it's just me." Astrid said a little amused by Hiccup's reaction.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Hiccup asked as he was recovering from the scare.

"I didn't want to disturb your work with _my_ axe." She said with a small sarcastic smile.

"Uh...Yes, I needed your axe to make some boards to immobilize Stormfly's injured wing. So she will heal faster, you know." Hiccup said, gathering the boards from the ground.

"Oh... Sorry then. And, thanks..."

"No problem. I hate to see a dragon suffer when it could be helped." Hiccup said, giving Astrid her axe and starting to walk back to the cave.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked soon after that..

"Yes, Astrid?"

"How, did you feel after taming...No, befriending Toothless?" Astrid asked a little sad. Too many big things happened in the last few day and she didn't have time to digest all the new information. She wanted his help to understand Stormfly as quickly as possible and to understand the status of traitor. She hated to admit it, but she really needed his help.

"Happy. Amazed. Scared. A lot of thoughts passed through my mind at that moment, but those were the most predominant ones." Hiccup said without any hesitation or problem on the subject. He really wanted to help Astrid understand Stormfly. He really wanted to make her understand dragons, at least the fact that they were not a threat.

"Why did you feel scared?" Astrid asked a little surprised, a lot of thoughts went through her head at that moment as well, but after she felt Stormfly's scales on her hand, fear was not one of them.

"I was afraid for Toothless. I noticed he couldn't fly and I was afraid that you guys might hurt him or kill him. I was afraid of losing my only friend." Hiccup said with a little sadness in his voice. Even as the cove was a pretty isolated place, maybe some wandering vikings that trained in the woods, like Astrid, might have found the Night Fury and bring some adults to the cove and kill him.

"Hiccup, I'm sorry." Her experience with Stormfly was on an isolated island while she was banished by her tribe and with only one other person that already befriended the dragons helping her. She could only imagine what Hiccup had been through on Berk. He had to provide for Toothless and create his new tail fin and saddle. He had to hide the dragon from the rest of the village. He had to live with the fear that Toothless might not be there next the time he visited the cove, the fear that a viking would bring Toothless's head in the village. After realizing that, she considered herself lucky. Finally something good happened to her in the past few months. She befriended a dragon and there weren't any serious consequences for that. Yet, at least.

"Don't be. I'm over it now. Here we are both free from Berk. At least I am. You can still return back, if you really wanted, I won't stop you." Hiccup said at which Astrid silently shook her head. "So, you don't want to go back to Berk. Then what's the problem?"

"It's that I...Hiccup, I was a viking. I was raised to become a viking, to kill dragons, to follow all the traditions and to worship the gods. But everything I had been taught said that dragons are bad creatures, that they need to be killed in order for us to survive. And now, after meeting Stormfly, I just gave everything up...I just abandoned the viking heritage for a dragon! I just betrayed my parents, Berk and..."

"And do you regret it?" Hiccup asked, interrupting her.

"I...I don't know..." She answered, covering her face with her palms. "You know what? No. No, I don't regret it."

"Then why are you still upset?"

"You just showed me that everything I learned for fifteen years was wrong. And I'm...I'm scared of what my parents would think if they knew. I'm afraid of what everyone else would think."

"Astrid, the chances of anyone from Berk going out to search for you and bring you back to Berk without my head in a bag are almost zero. Yes, you love your parents. Yes, you miss your friends. And yes, you miss being the best young viking on Berk. I know that this is hard to accept, but you said that you don't regret befriending Stormfly. You need to chose between your dragon or the small chance to ever see your parents again. If you want to return to Berk, I will happily fly all the way there with Toothless and surrender myself. You would be the one that managed to slay Hiccup the Traitor, possibly the first dragon rider and a mighty Night Fury. Think very carefully about your answer." Hiccup said with a very serious expression, he meant every word he said.

"No..." Astrid said quietly shaking her head, looking sadly at the ground. All the things that Hiccup said were true. She loved her parents, she missed her friends, she missed being a viking on Berk. But she wasn't going to trade Stormfly for Berk. She wasn't going to trade the dragon that trusted her with her life, the dragon that _she_ trusted with her life, for Berk, the village where she grew, the village where she lived the last fifteen years. She wasn't going to trade a _dragon _that she met a day ago for the village where she lived. She wasn't going to trade Hiccup and Toothless for glory and honor. She wasn't going to trade _two dragons and a traitor_ for her family and the honor of being one of the greatest vikings of all time.

"So, you would rather train a silly dragon than being the hero of the Barbarian Archipelago?" Hiccup asked now standing in front of her. He raised her face so he could look in her eyes. He needed to see her eyes as she answered his question.

"Yes." Astrid said, burying her face in his shoulder, hugging him tightly. She tried to hold a sob, but failed, then Hiccup slowly returned the hug, slowly patting her on the back, assuring her that everything was alright. Then she started crying, not trying to hold herself anymore.

Astrid Hofferson just betrayed everything she stood for. Everything she believed for fifteen years. It was not an easy thing to do, Hiccup knew that, but he had to know that he could trust her. Even if he had a crush on her since they were little, he had to know that she forgot Berk. That she accepted the dragons as friends. That she wasn't going to kill him, and get herself killed in the process. He needed this certitude.

They just stood there. The only sound in that part of the forest was Astrid crying. Toothless looked at them, he was clever enough to understand what the humans were saying, they had an easy language, many different and easy distinguishable words. He knew that this wasn't the same Astrid that wanted to kill him at the cove. She changed. For the better he hoped. The Night Fury slowly started to walk by the teens and go back to the cave. He needed to talk to Stormfly.

After Toothless reached the cave, he noticed Stormfly sitting near the fire. She reignited the fire to keep her warm.

'The two humans are gathering materials to heal your broken wing.' Toothless said, approaching the fire.

'I am grateful that you convinced me to come here, to this cave. Your humans look friendly enough. The male didn't try to kill me to impress the female, like most of their species do, but he protected me. Why?' Stormfly asked the Nigh Fury, slowly getting up.

'He is the only human that trusts dragons. He had to run because of that and now all vikings want him dead.' The Night Fury said while sitting near the fire, to warm himself.

'So the girl was here to kill him?' The Nadder asked, looking in the fire.

'Yes, but they seemed to have a past. When Hiccup planned to flee the village with me, she followed him. I don't know why, but she seems to care about him, or maybe she is just pretending for her quest to power. I am not sure.'

'She feels a lot of things for the boy. Anger, piety, sadness, regret, love. I don't know what she's going to do, but she is not going to hurt the boy anymore.' Stormfly said, looking at Toothless, waiting for his answer, but the Night Fury stood in silence. He was thinking about something.

'If the girl is going to hurt Hiccup in the future, I want your permission to intervene. I know you are bound to her from now on, but I am also bound to the boy and I can't stand and do nothing while she hurts him again.' Toothless said after hesitating a little. He wanted to protect Hiccup. He wanted to protect the boy that took his ability to fly. He wanted to protect him because they were alike, because they were family. And Toothless protected his family.

This took the Nadder by surprise. She wasn't expecting something like this. She knew that Astrid hurt the boy in the past, but to such a level that another dragon asked her permission to stop it? The boy was the first of his kind to befriend dragons. He was special, but would she betray her human for Hiccup, for the only human that could end the war?

'If the girl hurts Hiccup again..." the Nadder began weighting the decisions. "You have my permission to intervene. Since the girl is still a viking she could still be dangerous, but if she abandoned their ways, I ask you to spare her.' Stormfly softly said.

'You have my word.' Toothless responded, looking at the entrance of the cave at the two teens entering.

Astrid was carrying her axe and a few boards, while Hiccup was carrying the rest of the boards he chopped this morning.

"Let's get you fixed, Stormfly." Hiccup said while approaching the Nadder. He placed all the boards near Stormfly's right side. "Astrid, can you cut some leather strips from some hides near the fire wood?" Hiccup asked the girl.

"Sure." Astrid said, getting her dagger from her boot and starting to cut the leather. In a few moments she cut five long leather stripes.

Hiccup placed three board under Stormfly's wing and asked Astrid to hold them while he placed another three boards on top of her wing, then he proceeded to tie the boards together with the five leather stripes that Astrid had just cut, immobilizing Stormfly's right wing.

"That should do it." Hiccup proudly said, admiring his work.

"Thanks a lot, Hiccup." Astrid said with a small smile while hugging her dragon.

'Maybe she changed.' Stormfly said to the Night Fury.

'I hope so. It would be nice to have two people in the entire archipelago to not hunt us.' Toothless said, studying Astrid's movement. He really hoped that Astrid would accept dragons, but he also wanted to protect Hiccup. If he would have to choose between having another person to not hunt dragons and Hiccup, he would choose the boy every single time. He was the one that bound to him after all, that was a connection much stronger than the connection he had with the other dragons. He would keep an eye on the girl from now.

Later that day, the two teens went out training again.

"Astrid, can you train me in using a sword?" Hiccup asked her while they were walking to the beach.

"I don't see any swords around here, or are you hiding something from me again?" Astrid asked, while suspiciously looking at the boy.

"No, I am not hiding anything. Maybe we can use some sticks or something, I really don't like the axe." Hiccup said pointing at the trees.

"The axe is one of the most powerful weapons created by mankind. It has the delicate touch of a blade and the powerful feeling of a mace. It's truly a masterpiece." Astrid said, admiring the weapon in her hand.

"But it's not the weapon for me." Hiccup pointed out.

"Let's have it your way then," Astrid rolled her eyes. "Go and find a stick and let's start training."

"Why only _one_ stick?" Hiccup asked a little surprised.

"Because if I would fight back you wouldn't stand a chance." Astrid said, reminding him who was the best warrior on the island.

"I could defeat you." Hiccup muttered annoyed.

"You really want me to fight you?" Astrid asked, looking at Hiccup.

"It's the best way to train. Wouldn't you agree?" Hiccup said, looking for some sticks thick enough to be used as decent wooden swords.

"Hiccup, you barely know how to hold a weapon, you don't even know what to look at in weapon." Astrid said, gesturing with her hands.

"You know that I worked in the forge on Berk for almost ten years?" Hiccup said with a sarcastic tone.

"That's not the point. The idea is..."

"You remember that time when you broke the handle of you axe and brought it to the forge to repair it?" Hiccup said, interrupting the girl.

"Yeah, so?" Astrid asked.

"You remember that after I repaired your axe, you told me that it felt completely rebalanced and a lot lighter, and just, better?" Hiccup asked, gesturing with his hands.

"Yes. I don't know what Gobber did but it changed the way I fought with an axe." She said with a small smile remembering the pleasant surprise she had after throwing her axe at a tree. The action felt a lot easier but the resistance and power of the weapon was still there.

"_I_ changed your handle that was made from pine to one that was made from white oak, which is a stronger type of wood, and that allowed _me_ to make the axe head a little heavier to balance the extra weight from the new handle. So you got a stronger, more resistant and better balanced weapon from just a new handle." Hiccup said, gesturing almost every process he used to change her axe.

"So..." Astrid began while looking at her axe "_You_ changed my family's axe?"

"Uh, Yes." Hiccup said rubbing the back of his neck. He took a few steps back in case that she would turn violent from this new information. He was a screw-up when he changed her axe. He was afraid that she might feel offended by it.

"And you modified this axe, making it one of the best weapons on Berk and didn't say anything?" Astrid asked almost yelling while walking towards Hiccup.

"If I told you that I made this weapon you would have killed me because I was the village screw-up. So I had my reasons."

"What other amazing weapons did you create and pass to Gobber just so that the weapons would be used?"

"Well…there were a few." Hiccup said slowly backing away from her.

"Did I use them? Where they just as amazing as this one? How were they used in combat?"

"There was that flaming sword that almost burned Sven's house..." Hiccup said trying to remember some weapons that didn't backfire and almost killed someone, but he couldn't really find any examples of _safe_ weapons that he created. "The one that I caught Toothless with, and was later destroyed by a Monstrous Nightmare..."

"So you didn't really have any weapons that didn't backfired, do you?" Astrid asked, interrupting him with a disappointed look on her face.

"Nope. Not really. I don't think so." Hiccup said analyzing his memory.

They walked in silence for a few minutes until they reached the beach.

"Hey. Can you make us some training swords? Like real wooden swords not just sticks?" Astrid asked the boy while looking at the sea. "I can lent you my axe if you need it."

"Sure. I can do that." Hiccup said proudly.

Then they started to make a board from a fallen tree. Hiccup proceeded to cut from the plank two small clubs, which then he started to shape with his dagger slowly creating the shape of a wooden sword. He even made a small sign on where the handle should be. He managed to make two decent wooden swords in almost half an hour. He was skilled at this. Well, he practiced a lot trying to be respected in Berk. Blacksmiths were very respected around the archipelago, so this was one of his only chances to be someone. But he was over that now. Now he just wanted to be happy with his dragons and if everything will went well, with Astrid.

"So you finished?" Astrid asked the boy while sharpening her axe with a stone. After he nodded, she got up and approached him, taking one of the wooden weapons from the ground, carefully examining it. "You are _actually_ pretty good at this."

"Thanks." Hiccup replied, picking up the other sword. "So, how are we going to do this?" He then asked a little worried about the possible injuries that he would sustain.

"We will fight until the first sign of blood." Astrid said while giving the wooden sword a few swings.

"I was afraid of that..." Hiccup said under his breath.

"You have any better ideas?" Astrid asked him. She was fairly satisfied with the sword. It wasn't the best training sword, but he managed to make it in less than half an hour and without the equipment of his forge in Berk. So she was content with the practice weapon.

"We can just try to disarm each other." Hiccup suggested, hoping that she would like the idea. He wasn't really looking forward to any serious injuries.

"Sure. Whatever makes you happy." The girl said rolling her eyes and slowly backing away from Hiccup, giving the boy a little space to charge. "But, to make things more interesting. The loser will have to go hunting."

"I am the only one that caught a boar on this island..." Hiccup said sarcastically.

"That is not the point. This is the only way I am going to train with you if we are just disarming." She said, standing her ground at about thirty feet away from Hiccup.

"Good enough." The boy said.

"Okay. Now charge." Astrid said with a small smile. This was going to be easy, she already had a plan for this.

"No. You charge." Hiccup quickly responded.

"What?" Astrid asked a little shocked about his answer. "Why?"

"Because if I charge, you will quickly dodge and hit me on my left leg so I would fall and then you can easily disarm me." Hiccup said a little afraid by this confrontation, but also proud that he figured her plan. Astrid just sat there dumbfounded looking at the boy.

"How in Thor's name did you figure that out so quickly?" She finally asked.

"Because that would have been a fast and easy win, and you have the experience to do something like that. But by doing that I would have learned nothing. So let's not do that." Hiccup said. He was hoping that this didn't anger the young teen. He wasn't looking forward to an angry Astrid.

"You're right. You would have learned nothing and I could have returned on training with my axe. You know that _me_ training _you_ doesn't really help _my_ training?" She said, slowly approaching the boy. She looked a little angry. Hiccup was worried that she could get violent.

"But I helped you befriend Stormfly. That must count for something, right?" Hiccup quickly reminded her, slowly backing away from her. Then Astrid stopped. He was right. She owed him at least this, she had to at least train him to fight.

"You're right, _again_." She answered a little annoyed. "So this is what we are going to do. We will have a normal fight with training swords. We will try to disarm and hit each other. We will train for how long you want. I owe you at least this, not only for Stormfly. How does this sound?" She finally asked Hiccup, hoping that he would agree to this simple plan. In the long term he would become a good fighter. This was the fastest and most efficient way, but Hiccup was, well, a _hiccup_. He was weak and didn't really have a lot of physical training. He worked in a forge but that was not enough to be a good fighter, he knew how to use a weapon, since he had to make them, but not good enough to fight anyone with them. He just knew the basics. Maybe a little more. Maybe.

"This should work just fine." Hiccup said with a small smile, approaching Astrid.

"Are you ready?" The girl asked.

"Yes." Hiccup said while taking a deep breath. After that Astrid quickly hit Hiccup's sword, which fell to the ground and then she quickly hit him over his shoulder. Everything happened in almost one second. "Ouch. How did you do that?" Hiccup asked while rubbing his shoulder.

"Training. Now pick up your sword." Astrid promptly said. She was trying to be a serious teacher. She wasn't going to treat him lightly just because he was a hiccup. This was for his own good.

"Can I at least try to hit you?" He said while getting his sword.

"You want a serious fight or me just parrying your attacks?" Astrid asked with a very severe face.

"A fair fight." Hiccup slowly said.

"That's what I though."

They trained like this for days.

After almost two weeks, Hiccup was full of bruises. She wasn't going easy on him, not at all. He wasn't sure it that was her revenge or that she actually cared enough for him to not treat him like a weakling, that she cared enough for him to treat him like a normal viking. But he betrayed his viking heritage a long time ago. He officially abandoned his heritage two months ago when he was marked as a traitor. So he wasn't a viking anymore. Neither was she. They were both outcasts now. They could actually both associate themselves with Alvin the Treacherous and join the Outcast Tribe to destroy Berk. But he didn't care about Berk anymore. Maybe Astrid did, but not in a bad way, maybe she still missed Berk, all her friends and her family.

He still didn't understand why hadn't she just accepted his offer to return her to Berk and surrender himself. She would've been with her family and friends right now, not in an empty island training a fishbone to become a fighter. It couldn't be only Stormfly's fault. Sure, the bond with a dragon was a very powerful feeling, not easily ignored. But she was a better viking that he ever dreamed of being. She was a honorable person, a strong warrior and a fierce opponent. And she gave up all that for a dragon and for a boy that she didn't even cared about until a few months ago.

...

Hiccup was getting good at it. He was still not a challenge to Astrid, but he managed to take her by surprise sometimes. On a few occasions he actually managed to resist more than five minutes in a fight with her, but maybe she was doing that to give him some confidence. He hadn't defeated her yet, but he was getting closer. If he would just have a little advantage at the start, then maybe he could catch her off guard. Maybe he could surprise her and manage to disarm her.

Then, he had an idea. He knew that he was ambidextrous, but she also knew that. He changed hands a lot of times and he was very good with both of them, just not good enough for someone who was trained to fight since the age of three. But maybe he could use two swords. He wanted to try this for a long time. He practiced a few hours a day with Astrid and a few hours alone. He managed to learn how to use a sword to almost its full potential. This was the perfect moment to try and dual wield.

He created another training sword in one morning before Astrid arrived at their training place. Often he would go there before her to warm up a little before she arrived. He wasn't going to tell her about it until he trained a few days with this new style of fighting.

After he left Berk his growth spurt finally kicked in. Now he was actually a little taller than Astrid. That also helped his muscles develop, but that didn't really help in his training since Astrid had years of experience with fighting and she was also clever. And she was still stronger than him, but she never teased him about that and he was very grateful for that. On numerous occasions she took advantage of his problems and injuries, easily defeating him, in the end saying that he needed to learn to fight in any condition and that it was for his own good, but that didn't mean she wasn't enjoying kicking his ass. Sometimes she felt bad after she injured him, and sometimes she went so far to even take care of him, hunting and taking care of the dragons instead of him, even bandaging his wounds.

Hiccup felt really lucky about that. He finally managed to have a _human _friend his age. And that friend being _Astrid Hofferson_. Even after training they used to spend a lot of time together, just talking and telling jokes and sharing stories. He confessed that most of his insecurity and frustration actually came from his father, Snotlout being just a small added bonus; and Astrid confessed that there were days when she used to spend hours just playing with her hair, trying different ways to braid it, then she threatened to break his arms if he told anyone that. He really liked that she was talking to him and treating him like a friend, but then again, she was literally stuck with him, without any way to run without Hiccup quickly catching her, so maybe she was only pretending to be his friend, until Stormfly healed, allowing her to fly away with her.

"You're up early." Astrid said, finally reaching the beach.

"I had to, since I have a small surprised." Hiccup responded with a cocky smile, revealing the fact that he was using two swords. He actually thought that he was capable of really defeating her this time.

"Why would you try to dual wield? You will easily lose your balance, you will panic after losing one sword and at the end of the day you will be disappointed." Astrid said a little annoyed by this. She tried to dual wield when she was younger, and failed miserably, since then, she never tried to do that again.

"I practiced a few days before, so, I am pretty confident to try this against you." Hiccup said before swinging the swords a few times for practice.

"As you wish." Astrid said under her breath before charging at Hiccup.

The boy parried her sword and hit her with his shoulder, using the momentum from her charge against her. Which worked well as she fell to the ground, but she quickly dodged his attempt to attack her and she got up before he could try to hit her again. They were now looking at each other, circling around the imaginary arena they created over the past two weeks. They both were waiting for the other one to make a move. Hiccup finally made an attempt to an high attack with his right sword, at which Astrid responded by trying to block his attack, but just before she managed to block his high attack, another low attack managed to hit her hands where she was holding her sword. This made her flinch and drop the sword at which Hiccup's high attack managed to hit her in the shoulder. It wasn't an easy hit, with all the muscles that she forced Hiccup to get in order to fight her and with his recent growth spurt, it hurt like hell.

"SHIT!" She yelled after she'd been hit. She started to aggressively pace around and rub her shoulder while muttering curses at Hiccup.

"So... I'm pretty good with two swords, right?" Hiccup asked her with a confident tone while swinging his swords trying to prove his point.

"You bastard! Why did you had to hit so hard? You already disarmed me." She yelled at him still rubbing her arm.

"That was a small revenge." Hiccup said smiling.

"Revenge?! I'll show you revenge!" She yelled at him, quickly grabbing her sword from the ground and charging at Hiccup.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	7. An Idea

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. ** Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

* * *

After almost a month since Stormfly's arrival, her right wing finally healed. This meant that Hiccup could finally train Astrid to fly a dragon. So that now she could fully understand the potential of dragons as friends.

But there was one slight problem.

Toothless's flying gear was getting rusty, the fin had a few holes in it, and well, it was kind of a mess. So he would have to train Astrid with a dragon that had never flew with humans on her back before. That means he would have to train Astrid and Stormfly at the same time, and he wasn't really looking forward to this small complication. His initial plan was to fly Astrid with Toothless, until she would get used with the feeling of flying and to ride Stormfly alone until the dragon was used to flying with humans. He had a lot of work to do.

"The first thing you need to do is to trust your dragon. Stormfly has a lot more flying experience than you, so don't try to force some maneuvers on her when you are flying." Hiccup said, getting some rope from his bag.

"So that means that Stormfly will fly where she wants?" Astrid asked with a confused face.

"No. You can tell her where to go, or what to do, or you can ever steer her, but don't try to force her to do some maneuvers that could be dangerous. Not until you have enough experience flying with her."

"And how would I know when I can do _dangerous maneuvers_?"

"Trial and error. And I'll be there with Toothless to make sure you don't fall to your death."

"Got it. So how are you going to teach me to fly with her?" Astrid asked, approaching Hiccup who was tying the rope around Stormfly, trying to make a steering mechanism.

"I am going to fly with you on Stormfly until you get used to flying and she gets used to people on her back." Hiccup said, climbing on Stormfly's back. This made the Deadly Nadder a little uncomfortable, she flew a little before on her own, testing her wings, and Hiccup decided that her wing was fully healed, but she wasn't expecting to be flying with humans on her back, not so soon at least.

'What are they doing?' Stormfly asked the other dragon, Toothless.

What does it look like? They're trying to fly with you.' Toothless answered annoyed and a little sleepy.

'Why?'

'So that the girl can get used to flying you.' The Night Fury closed his eyes, trying to send the message that he wants to sleep.

'Why would the girl want to fly a dragon?'

'So that they can travel large distances in short periods of time or to have an advantage in combat or something.' Toothless answered annoyed, getting up and walking towards the cave.

'But you have equipment on you that is used for flying. Why they aren't giving me any equipment?' Stormfly asked before Toothless was out of her sight.

'Because I can't fly on my own.' Toothless finished, disappearing in the cave.

"So, we are _both_ going to fly on Stormfly?" Astrid asked a little uncomfortable at the idea.

"Yes. I don't trust you to fly her alone. And since Toothless can't fly because of his tailfin, if you fall from Stormfly you would be pretty much dead; and we can both agree that that would be a bad thing, right?" Hiccup said extending his hand to help Astrid climb up.

"But she's a small dragon."

"Dragon are a lot stronger than they look, she will have no problem flying with both of us." Hiccup said, still waiting for Astrid.

"But..."

"You want to fly or not?" Hiccup interrupted her a little annoyed. The faster she gets used to flying on her own, the sooner he can start repairing Toothless's flying gear.

Astrid accepted his help and climbed on Stormfly's back. The dragon accepted the idea of being rode by the girl and she understood that she didn't have any experience, so Hiccup had to fly with them until she was comfortable with flying a dragon. Astrid was feeling nervous about it. She was _so_ close to Hiccup. The only time when they were so close was when they were training, but then they were fighting, they were supposed to be that close; but now, now there was no real reason for her to be this close to him. She remembers the times when he couldn't talk to her without stuttering. But that was before the whole 'befriending dragons' thing. Now they trained and talked daily, going so far saying that they were even friends. And in the end, why wouldn't they be friends? A good argument would be that Astrid had to kill Hiccup. But he was the only person that had been nice to her in the past three months. And the more they talked and trained together, the more she realized that he was actually a nice person and that she regretted not helping him when they lived on Berk. To be completely honest, she liked him even when they lived on Berk. His nonconformist ways and his overall clumsiness made him unique, but not in a bad way, like the most vikings on Berk said. And with the more time they spent together, the more she realized that she was right all along.

"Relax. You will get comfortable with dragons soon enough." Hiccup said, noticing how nervous she was.

"I hope..." Astrid said, trying to avoid eye contact and looking for something to hold on.

"Let's go girl." Hiccup said to Stormfly, making the Nadder to slowly extended her wings and with a few quick beats, they were in the air. Astrid was taken by surprise and she soon found herself clinging herself to Hiccup, burying her face in his back. She then quickly realized that she was now hugging Hiccup, but she was more afraid of falling to her death than for him to notice what she was doing, so she didn't let go of him.

Soon, Stormfly began to slowly glide over the sea. A Nadders flying pattern was very different from the Night Fury's one. While the Nadder was flying more like a bird, with long periods of gliding, the Night Fury was flying straight, like a bullet, without any unnecessary movements.

Only after Astrid felt that the dragon slowed down, she raised her head from Hiccup's back and started looking around. It was a beautiful view. The first thing she noticed was that there were a few birds flying close to them, so she curiously extended her arm, trying to touch a bird, but she flinched when the birds got scared of her and suddenly changed trajectory, grabbing Hiccup harder. The world just seemed a lot different in the air. From the ground, the world looked it ended and the sky began. But up in the air, the sea went on forever. The glimmering rays of the sun fell on the water, making the waves glitter. Everywhere you looked, there was blue. Blue sea, blue sky, blue Nadder. The wind whipped her loose braid around and fresh air filled her lungs. Never before had she felt so free. Do the dragons always feel like that when flying? She was very jealous on the dragons right now.

"Wanna see something awesome?" Hiccup asked turning a little to face Astrid.

"Hiccup, this is amazing. The whole world looks different." Astrid said not really paying attention to Hiccup, she was too busy admiring the sea and the view. Hiccup noticed that she was distracted, so he slowly made Stormfly to ascend to the sky, Astrid would notice at some point, and then, her reaction will be priceless. And he was right, after they reached a certain height, Astrid subconsciously began to tighten Hiccup harder, making sure that she won't fall. Hiccup only now noticed that Astrid was hugging him. When did that happened? Why was _Astrid Hofferson_ hugging him? Well, she was hugging him to not fall to her death from Stormfly's back. But _Astrid Hofferson_ was actually hugging him. If holding another person to make sure that she won't fall to her death was consider hugging. Was that actually a hug? Well, it looked like a hug from where he was standing. The girl he had a crush since they were little, was hugging him. _Astrid Hofferson_ was hugging the former _Hiccup the Useless_.

_Holy shit._

"As-Astrid?" Hiccup started stuttering a little, then he coughed in his hand to regain his voice. "So, what do you think?" They were now near the clouds now. Astrid extended her right hand, trying to touch the clouds, expecting them to be soft and fluffy, but she was pleasantly surprised when she felt her hand dipped and refreshed by the cool, damp clouds. Then she started looking towards the ground, seeing tens of islands, small and big. Damn, she could even see Berk from here.

But Astrid was silenced by the view. All those now tiny islands that sheltered hundreds of vikings were now sitting there, looking like small leafs in the water.

"This. Is. Just. Amazing." Astrid said almost not paying any attention at the boy. "Why hasn't anyone befriended dragons before? We could have flown a long time ago. Why are all those viking so stubborn? Why?" Astrid asked a little annoyed, resting her shin on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Well..." Hiccup began, wanting to turn his head to look at her, but stopping when he noticed her position, "Uh..." He gulped. " Well, because most of the dragons hate vikings and most of the vikings hate dragons. So...It doesn't look like there will be peace for some time. But maybe if we could train a few more dragons to show the world that..."

"Let's go to Berk." Astrid interrupted Hiccup.

"What?! Why?!"

"Now there are two people that befriended dragons. Now they might listen." Astrid answered, not really paying any attention to his reaction, she was too amazed by the view.

"No. That's insane! They would never accept dragons. They are too closed minded." Hiccup brought his counter argument.

"We could at least try."

"Then we will both be marked for high treason and executed by the Blood Eagle. And I really don't like the Blood Eagle."

"Me neither..." Astrid said under her breath, remembering how close she was to dying on Berk.

"If we had enough dragons to at least raid Berk, then maybe they would listen. Or try to ambush us. Depends on their mood."

"Why would we want to raid Berk?" Astrid asked confused by his plan. She knew that Hiccup disliked Berk, but to go so far to _raid_ Berk. That didn't sounded like Hiccup at all.

"Well, I wasn't thinking to _really_ raiding Berk. I was thinking that if we had enough dragons to safely raid it, then they would listen to us. Because we would be a force."

"But what if they think we're bluffing?" Astrid asked, starting to like Hiccup's plan.

"Then maybe we should actually raid some boats or islands, _or even Berk_." Hiccup declared.

"So that we can make a name for ourselves. I like this idea!" Astrid said with a small smile on her face. This idea was crazy enough to work. It would take time, but they could change the entire Barbarian Archipelago. They could become the greatest heroes in the viking history. Astrid the Dragon Rider. She liked the sound of that.

"I kind of already started to make a name for myself." Hiccup said slowly at which Astrid laughed.

"And what name would that be?" She said with a mocking tone.

**"**Fáfnir. I told a pirate that my..."

"What?!" Astrid yelled "You are Fáfnir?!"

"Well...Yes..." Hiccup confusedly said.

"You know what they say about you in the villages?!" Astrid was yelling at the boy.

"No, not really." He was still confused and the vague answers Astrid gave weren't really helping.

"They said that your dragon ate a man alive. That your dragon broke the hand of a sailor when he tried to help his comrade that was eaten alive. And the other two sailors had to abandon him." Astrid declared, still not fully believing that he is Fáfnir. But he was the only person that came to mind when someone told a story about a man and a dragon, so it kind of made sense.

"Well...It wasn't quite like that." Hiccup sighed. "I guess is time for you to know."

"Know what?"

"You remember when I told you I killed a man?" The boy wasn't sure he wanted to tell her that story, but this seemed like the best time to clear his name.

"Yes." Astrid said. She was actually very curious about that. She noticed the first time when she brought up the subject that he was very defensive and hurt, so she decided to drop it until he was ready to bring it up.

"I killed him with my old bow. One of his friends threatened me, and Toothless crushed his arm. And then I traded their lives for the roman bow that I use now and some arrows." Hiccup slowly said. Even he wasn't sure that this was the right time. He still hadn't got over it. He might break down in front of Astrid. The girl noticed his sudden change in mood and realized that he was still affected by this. But the story made perfect sense. Hiccup didn't had the strength to kill a man in melee combat and she noticed his accuracy with the bow. But why did he killed him? What had gotten into Hiccup that he killed a man with his bow? She was going to insist on this later. Now she had to get them back on his island.

"Stormfly, let's go home." Astrid said, patting her dragon on the side, making the Nadder to slowly turn and descend to the sea level.

They flew in silence back to the island. Luckily for Hiccup, the island wasn't very far. They didn't managed to fly for a long time. But even so, Astrid seemed comfortable flying with Stormfly, so the hardest part in her training was over.

Astrid kept thinking about what Hiccup told her, realizing that the name of Fáfnir will play a huge role in making the vikings to accept dragons in their society. So far, it wasn't in a good way, but that at least meant that someone trained a dragon to listen to him, but this would make dragons to look more like weapons than real friends. Dragons are supposed to be friends, like a huge scaled flying dog that you keep in the house and talk to when you are sad and they make you feel better just by their presence.

When they landed, Hiccup quickly dismounted Stormfly and started to fast pace towards the forest. When Astrid noticed, the boy almost disappeared in the trees.

"Hiccup. Wait!" Astrid yelled.

"I just need some time alone." He replied with a sad voice.

"I can help you. I know what you are going through." Astrid yelled after him, trying to follow him.

"How could you know?" Hiccup yelled back.

"I've seen their faces every night for the last three months." She said with a sad voice when she noticed Hiccup sitting down near a tree. She slowly approached the boy and sat down by his side. He was quietly sobbing, staring down in the grass, like the way to forgetting that horrible event was hidden there, somewhere.

"Who are _they_?" Hiccup finally asked.

"Four villagers that tried to rob me when I reached my third island. After I traded some boar hides for a flask and some bread, they followed me to my boat on the other side of the island and started threatening me. They said they would kill me if I didn't gave them my axe and the rest of the hides that I managed to procure. When I refused one of them tried to hit me with a club. I quickly crouched and grabbed the dagger from my boot and stabbed him. He started to cough, but I was too busy to care for him when his friends started charging at me. They didn't seem to care about their friend at all. Two of them were armed with clubs and the other one with a knife. I grabbed my axe and parried one attack while stabbing the another with my dagger. Then with a quick turn I hit the guy with the knife with my axe, and got it stuck in his chest. The last one tried to run, but I threw my dagger at him, and hit his neck. Then I stood there in the dirt and blood crying for a few hours. Why did they try to rob me...? They could have lived... Those poor bastards could have lived...They still cross my mind when I go to sleep. I hope that one day I will start to believe that I killed them only to protect myself. But at the same time, I can't stop believing that there could have been a better way."

"You never seemed to be affected by this. Why?" Hiccup said, trying to focus more on her story, trying to forget his problem.

"I just had no one to confess to. Even when I lived in Berk, my parents taught me not to show any emotion. That this is the viking way. That a real hero is not afraid of anything. But now I know that showing emotions doesn't make you weaker. Even the simple idea of admitting a fear makes you stronger. A real hero is not the person who isn't afraid of anything. A real hero is the person who acknowledges his fears and keeps charging at them for the better good. And if the viking way makes you ignore your emotions, then the viking way is wrong." Those were the last words Astrid said before Hiccup started crying near her. She slowly approached and protectively hugged him. She was now here to protect him. He was there for her when she abandoned the viking way. He was there for her when she befriended Stormfly. He was there for her when she gave up Berk, for dragons. Now, she was here for him. She was finally here for him.

Hiccup wasn't like the most vikings. He tried to be, he really tried, but he failed. He failed to kill a captured dragon that couldn't fight back. Anyone else would have done it. But he wasn't anyone else. He was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the first human to ride a dragon. He was the human that would make dragons accepted in the viking society. He was the human that would mend this afflicted world. And Astrid was now finally there to help him.

Hiccup cried himself to sleep. Astrid was still near him, tenderly caressing his hair, trying to soothe him. She decided to stay there with him, trying to protect him from danger while he slept.. She knew that there weren't any dangerous animals in this forest, but if a wild dragon appeared or some random vikings or pirates, she would be here for him.

In the morning, Hiccup had woken up before Astrid. He was slightly surprised to see Astrid near him, hugging him. If what she did when they were flying wasn't a hug, this certainly was. He remembered her being there before he fell asleep, but he wasn't expecting to see her when he woke up. She actually stood there all night to protect him. This brought a small smile on his face. She actually cared for him. Astrid Hofferson cared enough for him to stay all night in a forest, near an uncomfortable tree to console him. This meant a lot for him. There was actually another human being, except from Gobber that cared for him. He thought that Astrid would have a bad reaction if he noticed her like this, so he tried to move a little to wake her up, but without alerting her that he was awake. When he tried to turn around, trying to make himself more comfortable, Astrid woke up.

She slowly removed her arms from around him, trying not to wake him, not wanting to explain why she hugged him all night. Well, at first it was self explanatory, she hugged him because she wanted to comfort and protect him, but after he fell asleep, she continued to hug him because he as warm and she just liked to. She wasn't going to tell him that.

"So you finally woke up?" Astrid said in a quiet voice, trying to get up.

"Five more minutes." Hiccup said, trying to stay on Astrid's shoulder..

"It's morning already." She said, slowly pushing him away and getting up, "Let's go and get something to eat. We didn't eat anything yesterday." She pointed out, starting to head towards the cave.

"Fine." Hiccup said, getting up and running after her, recovering the advantage she had.

"Are you feeling any better from yesterday?" Astrid asked Hiccup when he managed to get to her.

"Actually yes." Hiccup answered with a small smile.

"So you will be fine with me kicking you ass again in training?"

"I managed to defeat you a few times, so please."

"You just got lucky."

"So I got lucky like twenty times already?" Hiccup said with a proud smile. Nobody really managed to defeat Astrid. None of the teens on Berk ever managed to defeat her. But Hiccup did, a few times, he defeated her in a fair fight. Well, he was trained by Astrid, but that is not so important.

"Shut up." Astrid finally said, giving him a soft punch to the shoulder, trying the end the conversation about Hiccup defeating her. He actually got very good at sword fighting. Even if Astrid was fighting with only one sword and Hiccup with two, he managed to win at least one duel in a day of training. If she would use her axe he wouldn't stand a chance, but for now, Astrid was letting him have his moment. She still wasn't going easy on him. She would never tell him that, but she was actually proud of him, even if the small injuries that Hiccup sustained, making them end their day of training prematurely were very common. Once, Hiccup actually managed to injure her. When she tried to dodge an attack, he managed to make her trip and that caused her to hurt her ankle. She wasn't able to train with him for a few days. But she forced herself to fight with him, ignoring his protests. She knew that maybe she should've rested a little longer, but she promised that she will turn him into a fighter, and Astrid Hofferson doesn't go back on her word.

Finally, they reached the cave where Ild and Blad were playing at the entrance. They stopped when they noticed the two teens and just looked at them until they entered the cave. Inside, there was Toothless with Stormfly sleeping near the fire, and they even brought a boar and left it near the fire. They actually hunted a boar for them. That meant that Toothless finally accepted Astrid as part of the family, he wasn't going to hunt for a stranger and he was definitely not going to let a stranger alone with Hiccup for that long.

"Thanks bud." Hiccup said, approaching the fire and petting the Night Fury.

"They hunted for us?" Astrid asked, approaching the boar to skin it.

"Looks like it. Toothless used to hunt when I was too tired to do it myself." Hiccup answered, approaching Astrid. "Need some help with the boar?"

"No, I'll manage." She replied simply. "And Hiccup, I was wondering, why aren't you trying to sell all those pelts that you got from hunting? They could be worth a lot of silvers, and you really killed a lot of stuff while you were here. And the fact that I arrived here didn't really help the boar population on the island."

"So, I'm just to go riding a dragon to a random village and be like 'Hey, I have pelts. Want to buy?' " Hiccup said with a sarcastic tone, trying to imitate a foreign merchant in a funny way.

"You could, if the village was small enough. And you can also go by the name Fáfnir, to make sure they didn't forgot about it." Astrid said, skinning the boar. Hiccup started pacing around the cave, thinking about her idea. This was just insane enough that it could actually work. But only if the village was small and unarmed, so that they couldn't kill him and the dragon. But if the village was too small, they wouldn't really have anything useful to trade. Maybe try and catch trader Johann so that he could spread the word and trade with them.

"What about Johann?" Hiccup asked with a small cunning smile, revealing that he had a plan.

"That could work. But he trades only in expensive stuff, so you may need a lot of boar hides to trade with him. But that could at least spread the word about a dragon rider. So it might work but I don't really suggest it, yet." Astrid explained her opinion on this plan.

"You're right..." Hiccup said resuming his pace .

"But first don't you need to repair Toothless's tailfin?"

"I have an idea!" Hiccup stated excited.

"What?"

"We can try and sneak back on Berk and get back some of my stuff from the blacksmith, so that I would have the resources to repair Toothless's tail. And maybe even get some real swords so I can defend myself in case of something." Hiccup quickly said in one breath.

"WHAT?" Astrid yelled, dropping her dagger in the boar's carcass.

"Just think about it. It's perfect." Hiccup tried to continue his idea.

"No, no, no, no, no. Just, no." Astrid quickly said, standing up.

"Why?"

"WHY? Are you really asking me 'why'? Well, let's begin, YOU are marked a high traitor to the vikings ways and you most probably have a bounty on your head, and I am banished from the village until I bring YOU back." Astrid said yelling at the boy. This woke up the dragons, they started to look worried at the small fight that broke between the two teens.

"That's why I said that we would _sneak_ in the village." Hiccup explained.

"How did you even arrived to this idea? We were talking about trade and now you want to sneak inside Berk. You said that you wanted to raid Berk."

"I don't want to raid Berk. I don't even care about Berk that much. But it's the only place that surely has what I need for Toothless." Hiccup explained.

"And what does Toothless need?" Astrid asked slightly annoyed at Hiccup

"There is a special type of metal that is light enough to not slow him while flying. I used that metal to make his flying gear and I am pretty sure you noticed that some parts from his flying gear are pretty much rusted. Not to say anything about the tail fin."

Astrid sighted defeated, but still not agreeing with his plan. "But what if they catch you, or me? Then what?" Astrid said, yelling the last sentence at him.

"They won't." Hiccup confidently said.

"How do you know that?"

"I learned how to sneak behind boars and killing them for three months. I learned how to hide my tracks." Hiccup said trying to support his plan. "And I am pretty sure that you don't have any problem sneaking. For Thor's sake you trained all your life to be a warrior."

"Hiccup, you could die. You could have a slow and agonizing death." Astrid gave her final argument.

"But this can also be the start to a new viking society accepting dragons." Hiccup responded gesturing with his hands.

"Fine!" Astrid said exasperated. "But mark my words. If you die, I swear by all gods that I will follow you all the way to Valhalla or where the heck you will end up and kill you." Astrid threaten Hiccup, hoping that at least this would change his mind.

"Deal." Hiccup quickly responded with a winning smile. He wasn't serious about this, was he? This could get both of them killed, at least one of them. Things could easily turn from bad to worse. Why did he want to do this? "We are leaving at nightfall."

"Wait. Today?" Astrid asked surprised.

"Yes, why not?" Hiccup said beginning to pack some supplies in his bag.

"How are we going to get there?" Astrid asked gesturing in the air.

"With Stormfly. Toothless can't fly with this tail fin and we will take Ild and Blad with us to help us scout the area." Hiccup explained.

"Wait, so you want to endanger _my_ dragon and also Ild and Blad? But...Hiccup, I swear to all gods that if something happens…"

"…you will kill me. Got it." Hiccup interrupted her while approaching Stormfly and putting his bag near the dragon.

'Does he want to fly back to Berk? Why?' Stormfly asked Toothless with an almost shocked expression.

'Maybe for revenge, or to gather supplies like he is saying, but I am pretty sure that he has a more deceiving plan in his mind.' Toothless said with a small grin in his mind. He was actually proud of Hiccup, after only three months he got over Berk and now he was going back, not as the useless boy he was, he was now going back as a dragon rider, trying to gather supplies for his master plan. Well, their master plan, Astrid also contributed to it. Toothless was actually happy that he had trusted the girl, she had proven a very valuable ally against the vikings.

'I just hope that I won't break my wing.' Stormfly said still looking at the two teens discussing the plan.

"But still, why Berk of all places?" Astrid asked exasperated by this discussion and his plan. His plan that might get all of them killed.

"First. It's only one hour of flight from here." Hiccup started explaining

"What? Berk is really that close?"

"Second. I know the place and how to sneak around it."

"Sure you do." Astrid said under her breath.

"And third. I trust that you aren't going to betray me and then break my leg, dragging me to the village so that you could be accepted as a viking again."

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	8. Confrontation

****Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. ** Also thank _m4yui _for her solitary review on my last chapter.****

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When they reached the cove it was almost nightfall. They quietly dismounted Stormfly and started walking to the village.

"So, we are on Berk." Hiccup said under his breath.

"What?" Astrid asked, not understanding what he said.

"I never thought that I would visit this place again..." Hiccup answered melancholically.

"Now you want us to go back..."

"No. I was just thinking out loud." Hiccup quietly said looking around the forest to make sure that there were no vikings around.

"So, what's the plan? Are we just going to sneak into the village and steal the stuff we need?"

"Well, yeah."

After almost ten minutes they reached the village. They stood in the shadows of a small house, examining their surroundings. The village was quiet, there were only a few lights near some houses and only three guards patrolling the area. This had the potential to be a very easy mission. In the worst case scenario they would have to knock unconscious one or two guards, but it seemed that they could get to the forge even without resorting to violence.

"So, what's the plan?" Astrid whispered.

"To get to the forge." Hiccup responded also whispering.

"Easy enough." Astrid said before starting to go around the house and into the market. It wasn't the best idea for them to split up, but Astrid still had to prove that she was the best around. If not to Hiccup at least to herself. She missed being the best young viking on Berk. She missed always being congratulated on her fighting skill. But she wasn't going to trade her new friends for that. So in order to compensate for that, now she was making her own small challenges to beat.

"Blad, go with her." Hiccup said before starting to sneak around the house into the street.

Everything was quiet. A little too quiet. Almost every night there were at least five drunk vikings yelling in the street and making noise. Why were they missing now? This didn't make any sense.

While Astrid was approaching the forge she noticed Blad near her, she figured that Hiccup sent him to help her. The fact that the dragon didn't seem offended by the idea of helping her made Astrid smile a little. Even little Blad accepted her as part of the family. That meant a lot to her, so he scratched the dragon under the chin, making it purr in delight. When she reached the forge she noticed that Hiccup was already there.

"How in Thor's name did you managed to get here before me?" She said in a loud whisper.

"I told you that I learned how to sneak very efficient. And on the other hand, I know this village." Hiccup said while examining the weapons. He then grabbed two normal swords and turned to face Astrid. "So, what do you think?"

"Are the swords well balanced? Try having a few swings to see how they feel." Astrid suggested and Hiccup tried to slowly attack an imaginary foe to test the blades.

"They feel good. I could try to make them better, but not now." Hiccup said, getting two sheaths for the swords. "Did you see anyone in the village while you got here?" Hiccup asked.

"No. But wasn't that the plan? To sneak into the village while everyone is asleep." Astrid asked confused.

"Yes, but don't you remember that every night there were some drunk vikings making noise? Now I didn't saw _anyone_." Hiccup said, equipping his new weapons.

"Now that you mentioned it..." Astrid said, looking outside the forge a little paranoid.

"Do you want anything from the forge?" Hiccup asked while going in the back room to get some metal rods that he could later remold in a forge to fit Toothless's flying gear. Then he also got some quality leather for the tailfin, he tried to find some pieces that were large enough for Toothless's flying gear. And while he was in his back room, he got a few pieces of charcoal to make pencils and some cloth in case they needed to make bandages or something. When he left Berk he remembered to take his journal, but he forgot to bring anything to write in it with. Not one of his brightest moments.

"I might want a shield." Astrid said, slowly turning to look in the forge for a shield.

"A shield is actually a good idea." Hiccup said, depositing all the things he got in his bag.

"Are any of the shields displayed here in good condition? Or are they here for Gobber to repair them later?" Astrid asked, exploring the forge, not really finding what she was looking for.

"Actually, most of the good weapons and armors are in the back room." Hiccup said, returning in that room and grabbing two shields, passing one to Astrid. "Anything else?" They quickly equipped the shields on their backs.

"No. Let's get out of here." Astrid said before exiting the forge with Blad on her shoulder.

They were quietly sneaking through the village when they heard someone.

"Astrid? Is that you?"

_Shit_.

They had been discovered by someone and even worse, that person recognized Astrid. Everything went _almost_ as planned. They got to Berk, they sneaked into the forge, they got weapons and supplies and now they had to sneak out of the village undetected. It wasn't supposed to be that difficult.

"We have to run!" Astrid quietly said to Hiccup before both of them started to run towards the forest.

"GUARDS!" They heard someone yell after them. They hoped that they wouldn't be able to mobilize a search party before they arrived at the cove. While they were running through the forest they heard a dragon screech. It was more like a baby dragon, but a dragon nonetheless. Hiccup stopped and started to look around until he heard the screech one more time. He noticed Ild and Blad running to the cove, but he didn't worried too much about them. The way to the cove was safe and he knew that the two Terrors could take care of themselves.

"We have to help the dragon." Hiccup said, quickly turning to run towards the endangered dragon.

"NO!" Astrid yelled "We have to get out of here. We could die if we stay here too much." She said a little worried about the whole situation. And the fact that Hiccup wanted to abandon the original plan and help an unknown dragon while endangering them all didn't help to settle her mind.

"And he could die if we don't help him now." Hiccup said turning his head to face Astrid while still running towards the screech. The girl sighed annoyed and started to follow Hiccup. When they arrived at the scene they saw a small red dragon with a white head being surrounded by three wolves. The dragon had two horns on his head and a small horn on his snout. Hiccup quickly draw one sword and charged at the wolves. When Astrid saw Hiccup charging, she got a firm grip on her axe and approached the wolves to defend the small dragon.

Hiccup ran towards a wolf and with a quick attack decapitating the poor animal. Astrid attacked another wolf while jumping to get closer to it, she hit the animal right in the back, the axe slightly getting stuck in the carcass. Then the third wolf tried to jump on Hiccup, but the boy was fast enough to stab the animal with his sword. In less than ten seconds, they stood between three dead wolfs and a small unknown dragon. When they tried to approach the small dragon, a huge flaming red monster appeared from the sky, landing behind the small dragon. It didn't look at all like a Monstrous Nightmare, it was way bigger than that. Luckily for them, the small dragon intervened and stopped the bigger dragon from killing them. The two dragons seemed to know each other. After what seemed like a small conversation the bigger dragon took a more relaxed stance. They both looked amazed at the two dragons. They just made two new friends on Berk. Hiccup wanted to draw those two dragons but decided against it, since it was night and they had to go.

"I think this is his mother." Hiccup said measuring the size of the dragon. Then he slowly approached the small dragon to try and pet it.

"Hiccup, I don't think this is a wise decision." Astrid quickly said noticing Hiccup's intentions.

But the dragons didn't seemed outraged by this, maybe a little surprised, but not angry at the boy. After Hiccup petted the small dragon he slowly said, "I hope we will meet again." then he quickly turned around and started running at Astrid. "Let's get to Stormfly, fast."

Just as they started to get some distance between them and their new friends, they noticed a few vikings in the distance trying to track them. How had they managed to create a search party in such short time? This could only mean that the village wasn't asleep at all. Even if someone said that they really saw Astrid, that wouldn't make the village to mobilize a search party in such a short time. The only explication was that today was a holiday or a wedding or something like that and the whole village was awake. That meant that the drunk vikings that were on the street were now in The Great Hall and the whole village could be out searching for them now. How had he missed that? He should have figured it out. They just sneaked in Helheim and out without even knowing.

"Astrid." Hiccup said while they were running.

"Yes?" The girl responded a little confused and annoyed. They had a search party after them. This wasn't the time to talk.

"I think that all the vikings were at The Great Hall for a wedding or something. That means that the whole village could be looking for us." Hiccup said a little disappointed at himself for his slow thinking.

"What?! Are you serious?!" Astrid asked the boy trying not to yell. She needed to keep her calm. They got really lucky this time. It was really a miracle that they didn't encounter more vikings.

"Pretty serious." He said trying to focus more on the running.

When they almost reached the cove, a flying arrow managed to hit Astrid in her left shin. The sudden pain in her leg made Astrid release a small yell, then she quickly covered her mouth with her hands. She knew that if she would yell she would give up their position to the rest of the vikings.

As she was falling to the ground, still trying to fight back the sudden outburst of pain, she just realized. She was now a liability. She didn't liked her new position, but it was the truth. She couldn't train with Hiccup for at least a month. She couldn't hunt for food. She would just sit and eat and sleep all day. The main reason that she remained on the island was because Hiccup convinced her that she wasn't going to be a liability. She hoped that Hiccup didn't noticed and just kept running without her.

"Shit." She heard him say before turning her head and noticing Hiccup running at her.

"No. Please. Go. You can't carry me. I will slow you down." Astrid said trying to mask the pain, but her voice was filled with panic. She didn't want Hiccup to get caught. She might survive saying that she brought Hiccup to Berk to be judged and that he escaped. But could she really live with herself after that? Even if she was going to die tonight, she at least wanted Hiccup to get home safely. She was more afraid for his safety than about her condition.

"This looks bad. Very bad." Hiccup said, kneeling near Astrid trying to examine the damage.

"Hiccup. Just go. Please..."

"Just shut up! I am not going to leave you here to die." Hiccup interrupted her annoyed. How could she think that he was just going to leave her here to be captured by the vikings of Berk. After all that time he saw her as a friend. And Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III didn't abandon his friends.

"Okay..." Astrid quietly said, defeated. She knew that Hiccup was usually very calm and most of the times trying to be sarcastic. So he didn't get angry or panicked very often. But on those few moments when he did, he wouldn't listen to anyone. He would just do as he thought fit. So she knew that arguing with him now wouldn't really help their situation. In the worst case, it would only slow them down and get them captured.

Hiccup sighted. "The arrow went through your leg. I will break the arrowhead and the tail and we will take care of the rest when we reach the cave. Are you okay with this plan?" He asked looking at her. He noticed that she was trying to cover all the pain from her leg. It was an ugly injury. But it was treatable, if it didn't get infected.

"Okay." Astrid quietly said. She wouldn't try to speak louder, afraid that she might yell at the pain, worrying Hiccup further or even destroying their cover. Even in her condition, she tried to be useful, as useful as she could be in this situation, that meant trying not to create any more problems.

"Bite this." Hiccup said, giving Astrid a small branch from the ground. He knew that broking the arrow would cause a lot of pain in her leg, so he had to give Astrid something to slightly distract her from the sudden outburst of pain that was about to follow. Astrid got the branch from Hiccup and hold it in her mouth, slowly pressing her teeth into it. She then slowly closed her eyes preparing as best as she could for the imminent pain. As Hiccup broke the arrowhead, Astrid did her best trying not to yell in agony. She broke the small branch and she was going to yell until the pain went away. Hiccup noticed this and he quickly placed the side of his right arm in her mouth. Astrid didn't really noticed Hiccup's action, but as he broke the tail of the arrow, she bit his arm. The boy flinched at first, but he tried to keep calm. Astrid didn't need another reason to get worried. She managed to create a pretty ugly looking wound, but it didn't looked that serious. It would heal fast, but it will leave a small scar.

"I'm so sorry..." Hiccup said after Astrid calmed down a little. A few tears managed to escape her eyes. She didn't said anything. She just tried to lay down. After a few moments she passed out because of the pain. No one at that age should have an arrow through her leg. Even if she was banished from the village, why would they shoot arrows at her? She was respected here, she had a promising life in front of her. Maybe that's the only reason that she wasn't executed for helping him.

Hiccup slowly raised her and went inside the cove, where the three dragons were waiting for them. The boy slowly placed Astrid on Stormfly's back. The dragon looked worried about her rider. Just before he mounted Stormfly he heard someone yelling.

"Where do you think you are going?" It was Snotlout. He was the last person Hiccup wanted to face right now. When he looked at him, he noticed he had a bow.

"You shot that arrow?" Hiccup asked visibly angry, looking at his cousin.

"Who else? I am the best marksman in Berk." Snotlout declared proudly.

"So you shot the arrow that hit Astrid?" Hiccup asked, dismounting Stormfly.

"That was meant for you, but yes." Snotlout said throwing the bow on the ground and getting his mace from his belt.

"So how are you the best marksman if you missed me and shot Astrid?" Hiccup said, approaching his cousin. "You know that I am going to kill you for that, right?" Hiccup said in a threatened tone while unsheathing his swords.

"You are fighting with two swords. That is not how a viking fights." Snotlout said, mocking his cousin.

"I am not a viking." Hiccup said before charging at the other boy. He never really had any possibility to fight back Snotlout in the past, after all the times he was just mocking and hitting him, this is the first time when things got really serious. At first, Hiccup tried to throw a multitude of attack at Snotlout, trying to make his cousin lose his balance or his weapon. But Snotlout was an experienced fighter, he was the best after Astrid, so he managed to parry and dodge all of Hiccup's attacks, but in order to do so, he had to slowly back away, that would mean that at one point he would reach the wall of the cove and then he wouldn't really have a way to safely dodge or parry Hiccup's attacks. So he had to fight back. He allowed Hiccup to show up for almost a minute. Now was his time.

Snotlout violently parried an attack from Hiccup's right sword and that made Hiccup flinch a little and lose his momentum. He actually thought that he had the upper hand. He actually thought that he was now good enough to defeat his cousin. Now Snotlout started to attack Hiccup. The attacks with his mace were strong. Hiccup wasn't as strong as his cousin, not by a long shot, so he had to use both his weapons to block just a single an attack. Things had took a turn to the worst. This was not what he planned. He was stupid enough to charge at his cousin in a blinding rage.

Snotlout was just mocking Hiccup again. He allowed Hiccup to attack him, so that the boy could get some confidence and try something bold. Snotlout was a lot more clever in combat that Hiccup initially thought. But he had to win this fight.

This fight will determine the future of Berk. If he would take too long and Astrid bled to death, or got her wound infected and she died, Hiccup would go on a rampage on Berk, even if it would cost him his life. If Hiccup would die and Astrid would recover from her injury, then she would go on a rampage on Berk. If they both died, then Berk would live, until Snotlout is chief and then he would most probably destroy the village from inside. There wasn't really any good outcome from this fight for Berk.

With all those heavy attacks from Snotlout, Hiccup had to back away from him until he almost reached the small pound in the cove. _This is how I die_. Hiccup slowly said in his mind. Then a small fire hit Snotlout's face. His cousin let out a small yell of pain and covered his face with his free arm. Hiccup quickly looked around and noticed his small dragon, Ild charging at the viking.

"You can't do anything without your little flying shits. Can you cousin?" Snotlout insulted Hiccup, before Ild managed to bit his free arm, the one that was covering his face. The dragon had a strong grip. Ild was still biting Snotlout's arm, ignoring the fact that he was violently shaking it trying to make the dragon fall. _This is all I needed_. Hiccup thought before hitting his cousin's mace with both his swords at the same time. Snotlout was distracted by the small dragon and ignored Hiccup, that was a terrible mistake. He lost his mace. He was now unarmed against a foe with two blades and a dragon.

Before Snotlout even managed to turn his head to face Hiccup, the dragon rider powerfully kicked him in the chest, throwing him to the ground. Then Hiccup slowly approached the stunned viking and slowly pressed his sword on Snotlout's neck.

This was it. He would finally have revenge on the person that tormented all his childhood. He had the power to finish the person that caused him to spend so many night crying himself to sleep. This person in front of him managed to destroy all his self confidence and his self respect. This was the person that made him think that he was useless, that he was a mistake of nature, that everything would have been better if he would just die. This person, that was his cousin, that was his family, that should have supported him, or at least tried to help him, was lying in front of him with a sword at his neck.

He could just end that painful chapter of his life. He just needed to press a little harder and everything would be over. He would leave Berk in total chaos without a heir. He had the power to destroy the village that tormented him for so long. He slowly pressed the blade on his cousin's neck until it started to draw blood.

"Hiccup, don't." He heard a voice. He slowly turned his head around to see Astrid lying on Stormfly with an arm pointed at him. "He's not worth the effort. Just... Just let the asshole live."

Hiccup looked back at his cousin. He was lying on the ground terrified. He made this. He just wanted to end that chapter of his life, so that he can move forward. He wanted to have his damned revenge on Snotlout. He had the power to do it. He could just kill him and then leave. Easy as that. But what he did surprised even himself. He slowly backed away from his cousin and walked towards Stormfly.

Hiccup was a lot of things. He was a blacksmith apprentice. He was the heir of one of the most powerful tribes in the archipelago. He was a traitor. He was an inventor. He was a damned genius. He was the first dragon rider and the first one to befriend dragons. But none of those titles gave him the right to kill another human being. But he could. He could just bend the rules to kill that miserable person in front of him. But was that the way he wanted to end that chapter in his life? By murder? NO. He was better than that. He had to be better than that. How could he teach people about dragons if everyone viewed him as a criminal?

His anger slowly started to dissipate when he reached the Deadly Nadder. He turned his head and looked for one last time at Snotlout. He was still laying on the ground, terrified. He defeated Snotlout in combat, with all his weapons and abilities. But he would have never managed to defeat him without his friends. He would have never been able to chose the right path without Astrid. He finally had friends that helped him, that risked their lives to help him. He carefully mounted Stormfly and turned Astrid in a more comfortable position.

"Thanks." She quietly said.

"How is the pain?" Hiccup asked a little worried, but finally putting the important things first.

"I had better days." Astrid said with a small smile at which Hiccup chuckled.

"Tell them that Fáfnir sparred your miserable life." Hiccup said not even facing Snotlout while Stormfly was flying them away from Berk. Astrid passed out again in his arms and Hiccup could only imagine the pain she is going through right now.

...

"Stormfly, land there!" Hiccup said to the dragon a few minutes after they left Berk. He couldn't take Astrid all the way back to his island in this condition. The wound itself wasn't that fatal, but the bleeding or the infection that could come with the wound were. He needed to stop or at least slow the bleeding.

When they landed, he quickly took the rope that he used to steer Stormfly and tied it around her leg, little above the injury point. This would reduce the bleeding by a certain level. But he also needed to apply some pressure to the wound. He took a piece of cloth from his bag and quickly washed it with water from his flask. Then he wrapped the cloth around the injured area, trying not to touch the remaining arrow piece. He noticed Astrid flinching a little. She was still unconscious, so at least she wasn't feeling the pain, or at least he hoped that she wasn't. Then he slowly raised her up, trying not to move or touch the injured area, and placed her on Stormfly's back, after that he also mounted the dragon.

"Let's go back home, girl." Hiccup said in a low and sad voice, at which Stormfly released a small whine and took off, flying as fast as she could towards their island.

...

When they finally reached his island, Stormfly landed right in front of the cave. Hiccup quickly carried Astrid inside the cave and arranged her fur cloak near a rock, so she wouldn't have to sit on the cold floor of the cave. He arranged the cloak in a way that it partially covered the rock, so she would stay in a sitting position. The next on the list was to wash some cloth that he brought from Berk. Just before he exited the cave he heard a voice.

"Hiccup..." It was a weak and quiet call of his name. He turned around and noticed Astrid slowly waking up. He quickly kneeled near her and touched her forehead, to see if she had any fever.

"I'm here, don't worry. I just need to wash some cloth and then we can take care of your leg." He said trying to get out of the cave, but Astrid grabbed his hand.

"Please don't leave me." She said with sad and scared voice. She looked at him with almost begging eyes.

"But I need clean cloth to bandage your leg." He tried to move again, but Astrid's grip was still strong.

"Please..." she said again. Astrid was actually afraid of her condition. She had injuries before, but none this serious. She passed out because of the pain two times already. She never passed out before. She needed him here to comfort her. She really needed a friendly face to help her now. Astrid needed someone to tell her that everything will be alright, that this is only a small wound and she could return to training in a few weeks.

"Is this the mighty Astrid Hofferson begging?" Hiccup said in a sarcastic tone, trying to distract her from the fact that he had to leave for a few minutes and from the pain.

"If that would make you stay, then yes." She quietly said looking at him with her scared and watery eyes. Hiccup's face turned serious. She actually really needed him right now.

"Okay. I will quickly wash some cloth with water from a flask. I am not going to leave this cave. Is this okay with you?" He asked. Astrid quietly nodded. She was trying to hide the pain. She was trying to look tough, trying to ignore the fact that she almost begged him to stay a few seconds ago. Hiccup might never see her again like the strong viking she wanted to be, he might not even see her as a tough person, but she needed his help, she couldn't possibly take care of that injury on her own. And in a weird way, she wanted Hiccup to take care of her. He looked like he wasn't going to judge her for her weakness. He looked like he saw something in her more than just a warrior or a personal trainer. But she was afraid that he will reject her after this. After being a liability and after seeing her scared.

Hiccup quickly went to the flasks and washed some pieces of cloth and returned to her. He then clumsy tried to dry the cloth as best as he could.

"So. How do you want to do this." He asked starting to untie the bandage that he put on her wound earlier. She released a small groan of pain at his action.

"I just want it all to end. It hurts like a bitch." She complained. Trying to regain her tough imagine. She knew that she looked very vulnerable She knew that she looked very vulnerable, even pathetic, a few moments ago when she begged Hiccup not to leave the cave, but now she was slowly starting to recover from passing out earlier. She hated that Hiccup saw her like that.

"So, I will just remove the arrow and then bandage the area and hope for the best?" Hiccup said, trying to make a plan.

"Whatever. Just get over with. It's starting to get uncomfortable." She said, lying her head on the rock behind her and covering her face with her palms.

"The arrow?"

"If I wouldn't need you to remove that piece of shit I swear I would've punched you _so_ hard..."

"Okay..." Hiccup said, kneeling near her. "Do you want something to bite?"

Astrid thought about it for a few moments, then she calmly shook her head and said "No. Just remove that damned thing." She was slightly happy with Hiccup's concern, but the pain from her leg quickly destroyed that feeling.

"Here we go..." Hiccup said under his breath trying to get in a position to pull out the remaining piece of arrow perpendicularly, then he placed a strong grip on the part of the arrow that exited through the shin and his other hand has placed on her leg, around the wound, trying to hold her leg down. When Hiccup placed his grip on the arrow, Astrid gasped. She still wasn't looking at her leg or even at Hiccup. She just stayed with her head on the rock looking at the ceiling. She was doing her best to ignore the pain and the situation she was in.

Hiccup tried to pull the whole piece of wood with a quick move, but he stopped half way when Astrid released a very powerful yell. He then quickly stood up and started to pace around the cave.

"SON OF A..." Astrid yelled, slowly bending forwards in a reflex, trying to hold her leg to reduce the pain, "Gods..." she said looking at the wound. This was actually the first time when she looked directly at her wound. "Who shoot that cursed arrow?!" Astrid asked, almost yelling, not even trying to hide the pain and anger in her voice. She just needed to find out who that person was so that she can slowly dismember the archer.

"Snotlout." Hiccup responded, pacing the cave, trying to calm down.

"WHAT?" Astrid yelled. "That son of a whore shot that arrow?"

"Yes. And that's my aunt you're talking about!"

"Hiccup... Why did you listened to me when I told you not to kill him?" Astrid said slowly lying back on the rock behind her.

"I thought that you didn't want me to go through what I went after I killed that pirate." Hiccup responded, slowly approaching her.

"I just recovered after I passed out. I didn't know what I was saying." She tried to light the mood. Maybe the adrenaline finally started to kick in, making her less affected by the pain. "Now can we please just get over with this?".

"I...I don't want to hurt you again..." Hiccup said, kneeling near Astrid. The girl laughed a little at his response.

"Hiccup, if I have to remove that arrow by myself, I will kill you and then go to Valhalla and kill you again." Astrid said, slowly turning her head to face Hiccup.

"Please don't yell like that again..." Hiccup said, placing a grip on the remaining arrow piece and on her leg.

"Sorry..." Was all that Astrid said before covering her face with her hands and taking a few deep breaths. "Okay, I'm ready." Hiccup was preparing to pull the arrow out of her leg just before she quickly said "Wait! Can you bring me some water before?" And Hiccup slowly released his grip, trying not to hurt her, and brought a flask. She quickly drank a little water and then poured some water on her head and face. She knew that this was going to hurt like Hel and she wanted to prepare herself for the worst.

"Ready?" Hiccup asked, placing a grip on the arrow and on her leg around the wound.

"Wait a few seconds." Astrid quickly responded.

"Need something else?" The boy asked looking worried at her.

"Just some time"

"Astrid, I know that this hurts a lot, but if I don't get to bandage your leg soon the wound might get infected. Not to say that after I moved the arrows, you started to bleed." Hiccup said, trying to explain her that they don't have much time.

"Okay. Okay. I know. I'm ready now." Astrid said lying on the rock again. After she felt Hiccup holding a grip on the arrow she quickly said. "Can you get..."

"Astrid!" Hiccup quickly interrupted her. "You think this is easy?! I really care for you and I have to prepare myself for the psychical wound I will receive after causing you pain again. I don't want to have to do this. I don't want to see you suffer like this. So can we please just get over with so that I can go and hate myself for taking you to Berk?" Hiccup exasperated said.

"But I don't want to..." Astrid muttered, slowly bending forward and almost sobbing because of the pain. "I HATE this cursed pain. And please don't blame yourself..." She continued, quickly wiping her eyes.

"I can't _not_ blame myself. That arrow was meant for me. Even Snotlout said so." Hiccup said, slowly pushing Astrid back to lie on the rock.

"Snotlout is an imbecile. And if that arrow hit you, I would have gutted him where he stood." Astrid quickly shot back.

"I know, I know... So, are you ready?" Hiccup said with a sad voice, trying to believe what she said. Then he placed a grip on the arrow again and on her leg again.

"No..." Astrid quietly responded.

But Hiccup didn't care for her answer. Not now. He had to remove that cursed arrow and bandage her leg. But then he had an idea.

"Hey Astrid." Hiccup said, releasing the arrow.

"It is over?" She asked, slowly opening her eyes.

"What if we put Toothless cauterize the wound. That way, we know that it wouldn't get infected and it will heal faster." Hiccup said, looking at her, waiting for her answer.

"Doesn't caute-rize" Astrid said trying to pronounce the word correctly, "means burning the flesh?" she asked with almost a scared face. She really didn't wanted any more pain, but that way the wound wouldn't get infected. She saw Gothi cauterize wounds before and she remembered the yells, but she never saw a dragon cauterize a wound before.

"Well, yes." Hiccup said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Did Toothless ever cauterized a wound before?" Astrid asked with a worried expression.

"Okay. Bad idea." Hiccup said, placing a grip on that damned arrow and on her leg for gods know how many times before.

"No. Bring Toothless. The faster this wound will heal, the faster I can return to beating your ass in training." She said, trying not to seem worried about this.

Hiccup turned to face her and asked "Are you sure?"

"No. But please do it fast before I change my mind." She said, lowering her head on the rock behind her.

The Night Fury didn't hesitate to come to the two teens. Stormfly told him everything that happened on Berk. He was going to hurt that Jorgenson boy. And no one hurt his family and got away with it. Toothless actually got a liking to Astrid. He got used to her violent ways, knowing that she wouldn't willingly hurt Hiccup.

"Toothless, after I will remove the arrow, I need you to hold Astrid down and shot a small flame to the wound on her leg." Hiccup explained when Toothless arrived.

"When you say it like that it sound a lot more terrifying..." Astrid said, covering her face with her hands.

Then, without any warning, she felt a horrible, sharp pain in her leg. And without her even realizing, she started to bend forward to hold her leg, at which Toothless quickly pushed her back on the rock with his paw. The dragon tried not to press her to hard, because he knew that she didn't want any of this, but it was for the best. Hiccup quickly immobilized her left leg with his hands and Toothless approached his snout to the wound and released a small flame. Astrid released a yell at the sudden burn and started to curse Hiccup under her breath. But it wasn't quiet enough and Hiccup noticed her, but he figured it's only because he didn't announce her before pulling the arrow, and a little because he convinced her to cauterize the wound. Then Hiccup quickly raised her leg so that Toothless can cauterize the entry wound. After the second burn she started to think of different ways to get her revenge on Hiccup. At least he could have told her when he was going to pull that cursed arrow. Then she felt something cold on the wound. What in Thor's name was he doing now. She moved her head a little and noticed that Hiccup was now bandaging her leg. He quickly finished the job and said "Thanks for the help, bud."

After the dragon released her from the rock, she was going to punch Hiccup's face as hard as she could, but something took her by surprise. He quickly jumped and hugged her. Why was he hugging her?

"I'm sorry..." Hiccup said quietly.

"Why in Thor's name didn't you announced me before pulling that damned arrow?" She asked trying to be angry, but his action just threw away all her anger.

"Because then you could have said that you weren't ready or something like that. And I just didn't have any more energy for another break." Hiccup said still hugging her. He was actually holding her in a strong grip.

"You didn't have the energy?!~ What about me?!" She said slightly surprised by his answer.

"_I did this."_ He said. "Because of me you had to go through all that pain. It's only _my_ fault."

"No. You helped me. You removed that cursed arrow. I couldn't have done it on my own. Thank you." Astrid said, trying to comfort him. How is that she needed to comfort him? She was the one that just had an arrow through her leg. She was the one that went through all that pain. And Hiccup was looking more of a victim than her.

She wanted to bring that subject, but she couldn't, he was looking like he was going to break down. But for Thor's sake, she was the one that went through Helheim and he was the one that was going to break down...

"Hiccup, how is that you..."

"Please don't." he interrupted her.

"If you don't want to talk, then what are we going to do?" She asked, still wanting to ask him how _he_ was _so _affected by this.

"Try to sleep. I hadn't got any sleep since before we planned to go to Berk." He said, trying to sit near her, leaning on the rock. She moved a little to make room for him near her. He quickly accepted the space and moved closer, then he slowly leaned his head on her shoulder, it was a uncomfortable for him since he was a little taller than her, but he didn't care.

"Wasn't I supposed to lean my head on your shoulder?" Astrid asked a little amused by his awkwardly uncomfortable position.

"I don't know." He quickly responded.

"You really want to sleep?" She asked him.

"Yes." Hiccup answered. He had his eyes closed and all his responses came quickly. He really looked tired, but that might have been another one of his plans, trying to stay near her. She didn't really minded that, but she wanted to see how far was he going to go to sit near her. She didn't even noticed the pain slowly disappearing.

"But if you are really that tired you can go sleep in your sleeping bag." She said trying to make him uncomfortable.

"I'm not going to leave you after you passed out two times in my arms. I was afraid that you would die from the shock or the bleeding before we reached the island." Hiccup said with a very serious tone. "And on the other hand, your hair smells nice."

Astrid released a small laugh and slowly left her head to lean on Hiccup's. She quickly noticed that he fallen asleep. It wasn't long until she joined him.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	9. First

****Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story and especially this chapter. **Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.******

* * *

In the morning, Astrid was the first to wake up. The first thing she noticed was that the fire had been lit. She didn't remember Hiccup lighting the fire before he treated her leg and she would have noticed if he tried and move from near her. That meant that the dragons were helping Hiccup to take care of her. Her entire new family was taking care of her. Even when she lived on Berk, she had always took care of her wounds on her own, her parents had taught her to be independent and to not trust anyone when she was in a weak position. She was taught not to trust anyone to treat her wounds, since that showed weakness. The only exception was for the wounds that were too serious and that she couldn't treat on her own, but even then she should be careful.

But she trusted Hiccup. She trusted the boy with her life. Damn, she even wanted to sacrifice herself so that Hiccup could escape Berk. But he came back for her. He came back for her even when he knew that if he would've been captured, he would've been executed with the Blood Eagle. He risked his life to save a person that never really helped him with anything. She ignored him when they were on Berk, and he accepted her in his house, the he helped her befriend Stormfly. After everything he had done for her, she did almost nothing to return the favor. She only helped him to train, to learn how to fight. But he, he saved her life.

"What are you thinking about?" Hiccup asked looking at the fire. She didn't even notice the boy waking up. She usually wouldn't miss something like that, but she was distracted, she felt like he helped her way too much.

"Why did you save me? You could have just left me there to be captured by Berk's vikings." She asked, trying to face him. He was still lying with his back on the rock, in a sitting position and with his head slightly leaned on her shoulder.

"Would you have left me there?" Hiccup asked, raising his head and slightly moving away so that he could face her.

"No. But you already saved me before..." She said with a sad expression.

"When?" Hiccup asked slightly confused.

"When I arrived on your island. You gave me food, water and shelter. When I wanted to attack Stormfly, she could have killed me, but you stopped me and made me understand that dragons aren't a threat. I did nothing to help you..." She said gesticulating, trying to avoid his eyes. She felt like she owed him too much and she had no idea how to repay him back. Hiccup had saved her life _three_ times, and she did nothing but help him train. Even Hiccup tried to help her to ride a dragon, so the whole deal with the training wasn't going to matter since he was also training her. But she wasn't going to fly with Stormfly any time soon, not until she healed.

"You taught me how to fight. That's the only reason I'm here now. If I wouldn't have trained with you, I would've been dead or captured now." Hiccup said looking at her sad expression. She wasn't even facing at him, she was looking at the ground.

"But that doesn't even get close to what you did for me..."

"You can still help! It's not like you are immobilized forever." He said trying to make a joke, to lighten up the mood.

"But even now, you will have to help me for at least a few weeks. How in Thor's name am I going to repay you if things are still going like this!?" She said almost yelling. She didn't like to owe anything to anyone. That made her feel weak. She hated feeling weak. That was not the way to become a viking. But she couldn't become a viking anymore. Snotlout saw them flying away and he was going to tell the villagers of Berk that they allied and that she was weak now. That she trusted the dragons now. That she betrayed her parents. And she was going to get killed on sight if she ever returned to Berk.

"You already did." Hiccup said trying to look into her eyes.

"How? When?" She faced him. She was really interested in hearing his arguments to his declaration.

"You showed me that I can trust humans. You showed me that not all humans are as closed minded as the rest of Berk. When we trained, you treated me like a warrior. You didn't give me any advantages, even if I'm a hiccup, even if I never fought before. You treated me with respect and that meant a lot more than you could possibly imagine. So we are equals. Stop trying to think that you owe me something just because I helped you." Hiccup said looking in her eyes.

They stood in silence for a few moments, just looking at each other. They didn't even realized how close they were, until Hiccup gently moved her bangs that covered her left eye behind her ear, revealing her sapphire blue eyes. She unconsciously smiled at his gesture. A small sparkle appearing in her eyes. They sat like that for a few moments, and when Astrid didn't seemed outraged by it, he decided to take a leap of faith. So he slowly closed his eyes, slowly leaning towards her. He was going to try this. In all honestly he was expecting a punch, but when it didn't come, he felt a little more confident and he continued to lean in. His heart pounding like it wanted to escape his chest.

When Astrid noticed Hiccup's actions and once she realized that he was drawing closer, her eyes widened in surprise. But she felt happy. Even excited. That meant that Hiccup liked her. That meant that _Hiccup_ really liked _her. _And _he_ was going to try and kiss _her_. Hiccup was going to _kiss_ her. She slowly closed her eyes, still smiling, closing in on Hiccup.

They could feel each other's breaths, when the sudden noise of something falling and hitting the ground distracted them. Astrid quickly turned her head and saw Toothless and Stormfly staring at them, with a boar in front of them. Then she felt Hiccup's head falling on her right shoulder, releasing a loud sigh. She chuckled a little at that, but she still wanted that kiss. She wanted it to happen. And those two dragons interrupted them. She was slightly amused by the situation, but also a little disappointed.

'I think we shouldn't have done that.' Stormfly said noticing the scene.

'They'll get over it. That's what happens when you sleep late and you don't have food stored. You will have two hungry dragons going to hunt and bring back their prey.' Toothless picked up the boar and brought it closer to them so that they could begin to skin it and then to cook it.

'But shouldn't we let them have their moment? They went through a lot in the last day. And a little distraction from her injured leg would have helped her.' Stormfly said, slowly following Toothless.

'They will have other moments. And they will thank us later that we went hunting instead of them.' Toothless said, leaving the boar near Astrid and going to sit near the fire. He didn't have a lot of things to do, he couldn't fly, he didn't really like to hunt, he didn't have to fight other dragons or vikings, so most of the time he spent sleeping in the cave. Even for a dragon, Toothless was considered very lazy by Stormfly.

"Thanks Toothless." Astrid said, trying to cheer Hiccup up, "Don't you worry. You will have your moment of glory." she said, trying to raise Hiccup from her shoulder.

Hiccup quickly raised his head from her shoulder and looked pathetically at her, "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." he began to awkwardly from an apology.

"Hiccup."

"It just seemed right. At the moment…"

"Hiccup," Astrid said a little louder.

"I mean, you didn't punch me, so I thought that..."

"Hiccup!" Astrid interrupted him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "You'll have your little moment of glory _later._"

"But... But I wanted _this_ moment..." Hiccup said with a disappointed look on his face. Astrid chuckled a little at the boy and hugged him, surprising him. She never hugged him without a good reason. "Thanks." he awkwardly said.

"Let's go outside!" Astrid declared, still smiling.

"Su- Sure." Hiccup stuttered a little. Then he got up and helped Astrid get up on her good leg, after she was somewhat stable, he got her left arm and placed it around his neck, helping her walk.

Toothless quickly raised his head when he heard their intention to go outside.

'What's wrong with them?! Aren't they hungry or something?!' He said, visibly annoyed.

'That is what happens when you interrupt them when they have their moments.' Stormfly replied, slightly amused by Toothless's reaction.

'It's not my fault that their mating rituals are very slow!' Toothless said, slowly getting up trying to stop the teens from leaving the cave.

'Let them go.' Stormfly stopped him, noticing his reaction.

'How am I going to eat this fur ball?! I don't know how to remove the fur like the humans do.' The Night Fury said before releasing a low growl.

Stormfly was just sitting near the fire, laughing at Toothless's complaints. He was a very intelligent dragon. He taught her how to understand what the humans said. He was an excellent hunter, knowing how to attract the prey into his traps. But he was lazier than a cat.

The two teens slowly walked to the beach. It was almost noon. The sun was up in the sky and it was pretty warm for this time of year. Hiccup helped Astrid sit down near a rock, then he sat near her.

"So...Can I have...Uhm...My moment of glory now?" Hiccup awkwardly asked, tying to make an attractive smile, but failing horribly. Astrid slowly laughed, almost giggling at Hiccup's intentions.

"I don't know. Can you?" Astrid teased with a sweet smile on her face. She was expecting Hiccup to finally kiss her, they wouldn't be interrupted by their dragons this time.

"Yeah… You're right. What was I thinking? I am sorry that I..." Hiccup started to say with a sad expression while awkwardly gesticulating. This made Astrid slightly annoyed and she stopped him with a small kiss on his cheek. Hiccup stopped talking and was still with his hands in the air when she did. He slightly blushed and Astrid almost giggled at his reaction.

"You don't want your moment of glory?" She asked with a sarcastic tone. Hiccup hadn't recovered from that moment. He was still shocked, staring at her.

"Y-You aren't m-mad at m-my guts?" Hiccup stuttered again. He was slowly coming back to reality from her small kiss. Astrid had kissed him. Albeit on the cheek, but still. How had _that_ happened?

"I am actually a little surprised that you tried to kiss me back in the cave." Astrid said still smiling at him.

"Am I dreaming?" He asked under his breath. Then Astrid punched him in the shoulder. "Ow! Why did you do that?!" He slowly rubbed his injured shoulder.

"So, are you dreaming?" She asked getting a little annoyed at Hiccup's slow reactions. She wanted for them to have their first kiss. And Hiccup was stalling.

"No. I am very much awake." A small smile crawled across his face. This was like his dream come true. He had a crush on Astrid since they were kids. He always liked her. And now there was a chance that she liked him back. How could she like him? He was not the strong viking every girl is looking for. He was just a _hiccup_. His smile slowly started to fade. Maybe she was just pretending to like him to make him feel better, or to make up to him. But he didn't care if they were even or not. "Why do you like me?" Hiccup asked looking at her. Now Astrid's smile slowly started to fade.

"What do you mean, 'why do I like you'?" Astrid asked confused. Why would he ask something like that?

"I think it's pretty straight forward. Why do you like me?" Hiccup asked again looking at her. He wanted her to like him, that would make him the happiest man alive. But what if she had just grown used to him being around? Being the only other human she saw and talked with in the last month.

She huffed, but answered patiently. "I like the way you view things differently. I like the way you used to create problems in Berk and then how you managed to ignore everyone and still create new inventions and weapons. I like the way you managed to defeat me with an unusual style of fighting and how you learned to fight with two swords. I like the way you started to build muscles. I like your emerald eyes. I like that you managed to convince me that dragons aren't harmful creatures. I like the way you care about people even if they did nothing to deserve you attention. " She spoke slowly, looking at him. It might seem weird that she only started to pay attention towards him only after dragon training started. But she always liked him. But her damned reputation didn't let her do anything about that. She always regretted not helping him fight back Snotlout. She was a fool. And now, he is doubting her reasoning.

"But then why didn't you help me back on Berk?" Hiccup asked, trying to organize all the new information he got. Her next answer would decide the future of their relationship.

"Because I was afraid that if I made a move, I would have ruined my reputation and disappoint my parents. And then everyone would think that I was a weakling and I would never be able to become a shield-maiden. I just hoped that in time, I would stop liking you. But it never happened. And after I got banished because of you, I wanted to hate you, but I couldn't. I was angry that I couldn't hate you because you _literally_ destroyed my life at that moment. And then I found you and I felt..._happy_ that you were alright, but then I remembered that I had to kill you to return to Berk. And you wanted to give me shelter, after that, all the stress and anger and agony accumulated in the past months just, _disappeared_. Why do you think I almost got executed? Why do you think I tried to protect you and your dragon?" She asked a little annoyed. She understood his distrust on her feelings. He had all the rights to distrust her. But that didn't made her feel any less insulted by that. She wanted him to accept her.

"So, let me understand. You hoped to stop liking me so that you could be a shield maiden?" Hiccup asked. He wasn't sure what he wanted her to answer. He just hoped that she would somehow manage to clear his mind. But if everything she just said was true, then that changed everything.

"I was a fool and I am sorry. Okay?! I was a fool back on Berk and I regret ignoring you. Maybe if I wasn't such a selfish coward we would be on Berk, training or something! There are a lot of things that I would have done different! But... But maybe that would've lead to a different outcome... And I'm not sure I want a different outcome..." Astrid said, slowly placing her face in her hands. She didn't want to look at Hiccup. She wanted him to be happy. She wanted him to be happy with _her_. But she had done too many mistakes in the past to expect him to forgive her. But he forgave her for everything she'd done on Berk, for fifteen years, so it shouldn't be that hard to forgive her for being a selfish fool? It wouldn't be that hard if he indeed had forgave her. But she honestly doubted that.

Hiccup slowly touched her hand, trying to make her look at him, so she slowly lowered her hands, revealing her face. When she turned her head to face him, he quickly drew towards her and placed a short kiss on her lips. That caught Astrid off guard. She quietly stared at Hiccup as he slowly backed away. His action had definitely surprised her. But she was happy that he finally _did_ kiss her. He finally had the guts to do it. That meant that he believed her. That meant that he forgave her for everything she'd done in the past. A small smile making her way on her face. Astrid hadn't realized that she wasn't breathing the whole time she was staring at him. She quickly took a gasp of air before lunging forward to kiss him back. The sudden movement hurt her leg a little, but she decided to ignore it for now.

Before Hiccup even realizing, he was lying on his back with Astrid partially over him. After her attack, she slowly rested her head on his shoulder and hugged him.

"Th-thanks." Hiccup said stuttering, still not fully believing that he kissed Astrid Hofferson and she kissed him back. How in Midgard had that happened? Astrid slowly giggled at his reaction. He was starring at the clouds. He didn't say another word for a few minutes.

"Why are you so silent?" Astrid asked him. He might have fainted. He never was _that_ calm after she hugged him. Now that she kissed him, she expected him to stutter or have a panic attack.

"I am still not sure if I am dreaming or not. And if I am, I don't want to make noise to wake myself up." Hiccup said slowly turning his head to face her.

"You aren't dreaming, stupid." Still, her smile was tender.

"I'll take your word for it." He cheeked.

"Hiccup, there's something very important I need to tell you."

"Hmm?"

"Thank you." The look on her face was one he had never seen before. Calm, tender, and affectionate.

"F-For what, exactly?" That had been his first kiss, and by no means was it outstanding in his own eyes. Maybe he was a better kisser then he thought?

"I..." She started. "I am a cold person. I'm often mean and threatening. I don't really have any friends, and my family was somewhat disjointed. Regardless, you still care about me, you gave me a new purpose. You…made me a better person. Hiccup, you're the first true friend I have ever had. More than a friend, really. So... thank you."

He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. In the end, he just smiled back at her.

Astrid had her weight on her arms as her stomach and chest pressed against his. They were both silent as she pushed the hair away from his eyes. Once more, she kissed him, but this time it was deeper, more sure. When she pulled away, she gingerly wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his forehead.

Hiccup, on the other hand, was trying to calm his heartbeat. Surely, she could feel it she was so close to him. Here Astrid was, acting so sweet and gentle, he could barely contain himself.

"Are you okay, Hiccup?"

"Perfect, why?"

"You've been totally still!"

"I'm... just trying to drink it all in."

She grinned and leaned off of him a bit. "We should get back to the cave. None of us have eaten since before we left."

"Right." He amended, and he wormed out from under her.

In the heat of the moment, Astrid had completely forgotten about the pain in her leg, but it all came back to her when she tried to stand.

"Shit! Son of a half-troll!" She cursed and fell back. Hiccup rushed to her instantly as she grit her teeth in pain. "There goes my good mood."

He knelt by her side and took a hold of her leg. Softly, he pressed his lips to the wound and caressed her thigh. "Better?"

She looked at him with confusion. "You didn't even do anything."

Obviously, Astrid was not the type for sentiment. "Okay, lets just get you back to the cave where we can properly prop you up." He grasped her hand and pulled her to stand. With just one step, she winced and a few tears leaked out.

"It really frickin' hurts!" She bemoaned.

With a worrisome sigh, he scooped her up into his arms and began to carry her. "Put me down! I can manage!" She commanded.

"No, not until we reach the cave."

"But you can't carry me."

"Sure I can!" Still, his strain was in his voice. "If I can carry a boar, or lift heavy weapons at the forge, I can carry you."

"But—…"

"Please," He hushed. "I don't like to see you in pain."

With no more arguments to make, Astrid looped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder. "Thank you."

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	10. Iron

****Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story and a few scenes from this chapter. ******Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions so far.**********

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Astrid slowly woke up. She had slept near Hiccup, she remembered them talking most of the night and changing small kisses from time to time. She was happy with their new relation. She was overjoyed by being his girlfriend. They were officially together only for a day, but that didn't changed all the feelings she built up in time. She noticed that Hiccup wasn't near her anymore. He woke up before her and left the cave. Again. She really wished that he would wake her up when he did, that way they could spend more time together. Even before their relation started, she liked to spend time with him. He had proven himself to be a growing challenge to her training. He always used to talk in terms that she didn't fully understood, but she always learned new things from him. He was an excellent strategist, even if he didn't know it, he actually helped her improve her tactics in combat, but she wasn't going to tell him that. She didn't want him to become a selfish, overconfident boy like Snotlout.

"Hiccup?" She said slowly getting in sitting position. She looked around in the cave, but didn't see him. Only Toothless in here, and he was near the fire, sleeping. "Good morning Toothless!" Astrid said, trying to wake the dragon. She knew that he wasn't a _morning dragon_ and that he most probably would get annoyed at her, but she needed to find Hiccup. Toothless slowly opened one eye and looked at the girl with a sleepy look.

'Please don't tell me you want to go to Hiccup...' Toothless said with a sleepy tone.

"Can you please help me find Hiccup?" Astrid said with a small smile looking at Toothless.

'Go find him yourself!' Toothless said, turning his head to away from her, as a sign that he wanted to be left alone.

"Please don't be like that..." Astrid said with a sad voice.

'You can handle yourself, woman! Let me sleep!' Toothless shot back getting annoyed.

"Pretty please? I can't walk on my own..." Astrid said noticing that the dragon wasn't turning.

'Why do you like to torture me?' Toothless responded raising his head and looking at the girl with an annoyed expression.

"I just really like Hiccup and I want to spend time with him and I'm sorry that he doesn't wake me up when he does..." Astrid said trying to reason with the dragon. She was getting excited to see Hiccup again, she really wanted to see how he would react to their new relationship. Before he used to be so clumsy and distracted, now she wanted to see how he would react with a boosted confidence. From how much she knew him, probably he would still be the same. And that was more than fine with her. Toothless slowly raised up and started to stretch, to get the sleep out of his body. He then approached the girl with an annoyed expression.

'What are you waiting for?' He said lying near the girl so that she can get on him.

"Thank you, Toothless. I appreciate this." She said smiling while trying to get on the dragon. It took her a few minutes with a lot of breaks because of the pain. It was hard to get up and on his back while trying to use only one leg and to take care of the other at the same time.

The dragon slowly walked out of the cave, trying not to move to fast to accidentally hurt the girl. She was annoying at times, but he liked her. Toothless considered her as part of the family now. He was going to protect her if she needed it, but Hiccup was still his number one priority. They slowly walked to the beach, where Hiccup said he would go training. Now that he thinks about it, Hiccup actually told him to take care of Astrid and bring her to the beach once she woke up. Once they were close enough, Astrid noticed Hiccup panting while holding his two swords. She had no idea _how_ was he training. Just before she could say 'hello', a number of spikes flew at Hiccup. She almost yelled at the sight. But the boy managed to parry and dodge all of the spikes. She then noticed Stormfly launching the spikes at him.

"What in Hel's name are you two _doing?_" She yelled at them.

"Hey, good morning." Hiccup said getting in a more relaxed position and starting to approach her.

"Don't you 'good morning' me! Why is Stormfly shooting spikes at you?" Astrid asked, still yelling at him.

"She helps me train." Hiccup responded, trying to help Astrid dismount Toothless.

"By shooting fucking spikes at you? What in Thor's name is wrong with you? Did I hit you too hard in the head or did you just lost your mind?" She was still yelling at him, but she accepted his help. They slowly walked to a tree and Astrid sat down at its base.

"Maybe it's by the fact that you kissed me." Hiccup said trying to make a joke.

"That's not funny! She could accidentally injure you. And by the wound on your hand I figure she already did. Why are you so damned reckless?" She said pointing to his right arm. He was an intelligent viking, which is a very rare combination. But if by kissing him a few times he lost his mind, she was going to stop. Even if that meant that they wouldn't be together, he would at least be uninjured and alive.

"Actually," Hiccup said while sitting near her "you caused this wound." he finished by pointing out at his right arm.

"Me?!"

"When we were on Berk, and you were hit by that cursed arrow, I had to break the arrowhead and the tail." Hiccup began to explain

"Yes. I remember."

"Well, I gave you a small branch to bit on it. And you broke it. When you broke it, I noticed that you were going to yell, so I quickly gave you my arm to bite." He said slowly, rubbing the injured area on his arm.

"Seriously?" Astrid asked, not fully believing his story.

"Well, yes." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. This wasn't the reaction he was expecting. She didn't believe his story, again.

"Hiccup, I am sorry, but you will have to come with a better excuse than that. I mean, really. I know you hate pain and injuries, and I am pretty sure that you wouldn't injure yourself by doing something that stupid." Astrid said trying to explain this in the best way so that he wouldn't feel insulted by her doubt.

"I wanted to give you something to distract you from the pain. And my arm has the closest thing to a stick that you could bite. And maybe by this actions we are both alive." Hiccup said, trying _not_ to feel insulted by her disbelief.

"I kind of understand your point." he slowly said, getting closer to him. "But I doubt that you would do something so drastic."

"I would gladly do it again if you wouldn't had to go through all that pain." Hiccup placed a small kiss on her lips. She slowly smiled at his action.

"I don't want to believe that I did that to you." Astrid said slowly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"If you look carefully, you can see that this is actually a bite mark." Hiccup said, showing Astrid his injury.

"It's not big enough to be Stormfly." Astrid pointed out.

"Exactly."

"And it doesn't look like a Terrible Terror bite. Did I really did that to you?" Astrid asked surprised, and also a little sad.

"Yup. And let me tell you this, you really have a strong bite."

"I'm sorry..." Astrid apologized, hugging his arm.

"Hey, I was teasing you. It's alright, it doesn't hurt anymore and we are both here now. So it was worth it."

She punched him. "That's for teasing me."

"Am I not allowed to tease my..."

Astrid interrupted him with a kiss. "And that's for saving my life."

"I...I can live like that." Hiccup said, making Astrid laugh. "And also, I don't know if it's correct to say that I saved your life when I was the one that put it in danger in the first place. Your injury is my fault." Hiccup continued slowly hugging her. In the last month they really got to understand each other's thinking and logic and he was really happy that they got that close. He still couldn't fully believe that Astrid was finally his girlfriend.

"Please don't blame yourself. We didn't knew that there was a wedding or a holiday. And it was all Snotlout's fault. I am happy that you defeated him." Astrid said, trying to comfort Hiccup.

"First. I should have noticed that no one was on the street and make the connection, I was an idiot_._ And second. Snotlout was defeating me, I only managed to win because of Ild. He saved my life. I'm still a screw-up. I managed to get you hurt and almost killed." Hiccup said looking sad at the sky. Their trip to Berk only reminded him that he was still a problem. That he couldn't protect the ones he loved and that he would always need someone's help to do something. Maybe he didn't evolve so much as he initially though.

"NO! You are not a screw-up!" Astrid yelled at him. "And stop saying that you are! You are maybe one of the greatest men born in the Barbaric Archipelago. You were the first one to understand that dragons aren't a threat. You managed to befriend four dragons. You managed to convince _me_ that dragons are friendly. For Thor's sake. You managed to make me open up to you. You are the first person that I really liked and maybe my only real friend I ever had. So please. PLEASE! Stop being so harsh on yourself." Her voice was harsh and sad. She hated to see him like this. He was not a screw-up. He saved her life. He had the guts to leave Berk and start a new life, even if he was the son of the chief. He was a very powerful person. He just needed to realize that.

"You really mean it?" He said looking at her.

"Of course I..." Astrid began to say, but she was quickly interrupted by Hiccup's kiss. It was a sweet, tender kiss. He got Astrid a little by surprise, but she quickly joined him. The kiss quickly turned heated as Hiccup pulled her to sit in his lap. She smiled into his lips and buried her fingers in his hair. Their noses knocked against each other as their limbs curled and tightened around each other like snakes.

Toothless and Stormfly were sitting near the trees looking bored at them.

'I don't understand human mating rituals.' Stormfly said looking confused at the young couple.

'Well...' Toothless began 'The male is trying to impress the female by different actions. Most of the time they try to impress the female by bringing trophies to prove his power. But I also saw males trying to try and manipulate the females with sweet words and stuff like poetry.'

'But how did Hiccup manage to impress Astrid? He doesn't have any trophies and I am pretty sure that she is not easily impressed by sweet words.' Stormfly said still confused.

'Well, Hiccup was the first one to befriend us. So he has a lot more power of will than the usual viking. And you also said that he managed to defeat the annoying kid back on Berk.' Toothless pointed out.

'They are just so easily distracted. We were training a few minutes before you two arrived. I just hope they would finally mate and get over with.' Stormfly said slightly annoyed at their humans attention spawn.

'I don't think they will ever get over it. Most humans pick their mate and live with it until they die. Officially at least. A lot of them also try to steal other humans mate and that almost always leads to problems.' Toothless said trying to explain the weird human mating ritual.

'I hope that they won't betray each other and cause any conflict.' Stormfly said before approaching them.

The young couple didn't even noticed the Nadder slowly approaching them, until she nudged them. Then they quickly opened their eyes and awkwardly separated.

"Uhm...Thanks for...Reassuring me that I am not a screw-up." Hiccup said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah. No problem." Astrid said with a sweet smile, slightly blushing.

"That reminds me. Can I borrow Stormfly for the rest of the day?" Hiccup asked slowly recovering from their moment.

"Why?" Astrid asked. She hoped that they wouldn't train like that again. She couldn't bear to see Hiccup hurt by Stormfly. She loved them both. She didn't wanted to be mad at any of them.

"I want to go to a nearby village and give them a few furs so I can use their forge. I want to make a new rod for Toothless's flying gear." Hiccup explained.

"Of course then. Just be careful." Astrid said while placing a small kiss on his cheek.

"I could really get used to this." Hiccup said, slowly touching his cheek where Astrid just kissed him.

"Don't get so overconfident. I don't want you to become like Snotlout." She said looking at the boy slowly getting up.

"I could never become something like that asshole." Hiccup said slightly insulted by that comparison. "I will go to the cave to get a few hides. I will be right back." Hiccup said before starting to jog to the cave to gather the supplies for his trip. He took eight boar pelts and a flask that he put in his bag, he also grabbed one of the rods he brought from Berk, so that they could let him work in their forge with his own materials. He just needed a few tools from a forge and a constant burning furnace. He then slowly carried the pelts to Stormfly. She was on the beach with Astrid and Toothless.

"I hope you will take your swords with you." Astrid said looking at Hiccup trying to tie the hides with some leather stripes, so that the materials wouldn't be so difficult to transport.

"Don't you worry about me." Hiccup said, slightly happy about Astrid's concern.

"You are going on your own to an unknown village with eight boar pelts, hoping to let you work in their forge. How can I not be concerned?" Astrid quickly shot back.

"It's a small village. There are like twenty people in it. At first, I was surprised that they even _had_ a forge. So I am not too worried about it. I will leave Stormfly in the forest, so that if something happens, she could come and help me." Hiccup explained his plan.

"I just hope you will be alright." Astrid said stretching her arms, trying to suggest him to come and hug her. After a few seconds of confusion, he took the hint and hugged his girlfriend. He really liked the sound of that. Astrid Hofferson was his girlfriend. And it only took him three months after being marked for high treason. If he knew that was all it took he would have done it a long time ago.

Hiccup then mounted Stormfly after placing the pelts on her back. He was holding the pelts with his right hand while he was trying to steer Stormfly with his left one. When they took off, he almost dropped the pelts, but he quickly managed to recover and have a strong grip on ones of Stormfly's spikes. They were flying for about thirty minutes. The island he was going at wasn't even that far. He could have got there in ten minutes with Toothless, but his flying gear was almost destroyed. That was the reason he was going at this island.

They landed on the opposite side of the village. He wanted to walk to the village with Stormfly a little behind him, so that the villagers wouldn't notice the dragon, but the Nadder could intervene if something bad was going to happen. In almost ten minutes he reached the village, he made a sign to Stormfly to wait for him here. Then he slowly entered the settlement.

There was nobody outside. He slowly started to go to the building that looked like a forge while looking around for the villagers. He was in the middle of what looked like the main road.

"Is somebody here?" Hiccup yelled looking around. He remembered seeing vikings in this village the last time he was here. The place didn't looked like it had been attacked by dragons, so there was no apparent reason for the lack of people in the small settlement.

"I am Audun. I am the chief of this village. What business do you have here?" A tall and bearded man said while existing a small house and approaching him. He looked old. He was as big as Stoick, but he was a pale blond. He had some scars on his arms, but he didn't looked like he liked to fight. He looked calm and peaceful, but also prudent and protective.

"I want to trade a few boar furs for the possibility of using your forge. I have all the supplies I need, but I lack the tools that can only be found in a forge. I was a blacksmith apprentice, so I know what I have to do. It will take an hour at most and then I will leave." Hiccup said bringing the furs a little closer to the chief, but not close enough for him to consider him a threat.

"What do you want to make in our forge, young one?" The chief asked, slowly approaching the furs to examine them.

"My business is mine and mine alone." Hiccup said, trying to look like he knew what he was doing. This was actually the first time he spoke alone with the chief of another tribe. He needed to be charismatic and trustworthy.

"I hope that you will pardon me, but you are armed. And we have no certainty that you won't try to steal from us or try to hurt us." Audun said trying to read the boy. "You look like a skilled fighter. You carry two swords. Not many persons know how to fight with two swords."

"I'm...Not such a skilled fighter...I just got used of using two swords to fight and I prefer this style of combat over others." Hiccup said, hoping that he doesn't look like a threat or something. For Thor's sake, how could they see him as a threat? He was a teen that came alone in their village with only two blades.

"How do we know that you are not trying to lure us in a trap?" Audun said with an untrusting expression, as if he read Hiccup's mind. The teen just looked at him dumbfounded.

"I...Just...Uhmm...I have no idea how to convince you. I came here noticing that you have a forge and I am in need of one. So I tried to trade the few furs I managed to get on my journey for the possibility of using your forge. I know it sound kind of deceitful, but I promise you, I am an honest man." Hiccup said slowly rising both hands in a sign of mercy. The chief was slowly reading the boy. He was looking at him, weighing the decisions he was going to make.

"You can use our forge. But, I will personally watch over you. And, you will surrender your swords now, and I will personally return them to you when you finish. Deal?" Audun asked extending his right arm to Hiccup, as a sign of sealing their deal. Hiccup slowly extended his right arm, shaking hands with the chief. He then slowly started to untie his scabbards and giving them to the chief.

"Shall we go to the forge then?" Hiccup asked him while slowly starting to walk to the building that looked like a forge. Audun picked up the furs and started to follow Hiccup to the forge. He was a honest man. But he was going to kill the boy if he tried anything stupid.

When they reached the forge, he stood in the door while Hiccup entered and started to look around to find what he need for making the rod for Toothless.

"You still hadn't told me what you want to make." Audun said, letting Hiccup now that he still wasn't fully trusting him.

"Let's just say I need to make something to help a friend." Hiccup said while getting the rod out of his bag and starting to ignite the furnace. He got his journal from his bag with all the measurements and indications he wrote when he made the first rod. After the forge was finally heated, he started to melt the rod and to mold it to the right dimensions. He started to hammer the hot steel, trying to follow the indications in his journal. In less than half a hour he finished the rod for Toothless's flying gear. He then put it in cold water to harden the steel. After he finished, he stood and admired his work. He would finally fly with Toothless again. He missed to fly with his Night Fury and he was sure that the dragon wasn't so happy about it either. He still had to remake his tail fin, but that was something he could do from home. He then took the flask from his bag and slowly drank some water from it.

"That is all I needed. Thank you." Hiccup said turning to face the chief.

"How did you get here?" Audun quickly answered him. This took Hiccup by surprise. He forgot to create a plausible excuse for his arrival here.

_Shit._

"I got here with my boat. On the other side of the island. I explored it and I found your village. I noticed you had a forge so I thought about a trade." Hiccup quickly said. Trying not to panic. He was now unarmed, facing a viking three times bigger than him, and with at least another ten warriors at his disposal. He needed to buy his story. He really hoped that he will.

"Then you won't have a problem if I will escort you to your boat. Those forests are full of dangerous animals." Audun slowly said, trying to read Hiccup's reaction.

"I...I think I will...go to my boat by myself. But thank you for your intentions." Hiccup stuttered trying to get out of the forge with his rod and run in the forest to Stormfly.

"But I insist. We wouldn't want your 'friend' to not receive what you made." He said stopping the boy. Hiccup slowly turned to face him. At first Audun looked so nice and friendly, now he looked intimidating. How did he changed like that? He did nothing wrong. He traded boar hides to work at their forge. What the heck did he wanted more from him?

"Can you please let me go?" Hiccup said starting to tremble at the sight of the chief. Audun slowly placed his right arm on Hiccup's shoulder. The boy was starting to turn pale. This is how he would die. Why was he so foolish to surrender his swords so easily? He could yell for Stormfly, but the viking seemed experienced enough in fighting with dragons, so a Nadder wouldn't be a problem.

"Why are you afraid?" the chief asked. He was trying to find out the real reason why Hiccup came here. He was torturing the boy psychologically. Audun didn't really enjoy looking at him panic like this, but he needed to protect his people.

"I...I am not...I ju...just wanted to make a fair trade and then leave. Please." Hiccup stuttered. He still tried to calm himself, but he wasn't succeeding. _Think about nice stuff! Stuff that doesn't want to kill you! Think Hiccup! Think!_ He was yelling at himself. He didn't want to look weak now. Maybe if he somehow manages to hold his ground the chief would leave him. Maybe.

"What are you hiding?!" Audun yelled at him. This made Hiccup flinch. _Shit. Just, shit._ Where was Astrid when he needed her? She would have took care of this. She wasn't as easily intimidated like he was. She was stronger than he was. If she was here, this conversation would have never happened. She would've protected him.

"What the heck is wrong with you?!" Hiccup yelled back at him. He somehow managed to find the strength he lacked a few minutes before. "When we made the deal you agreed that it was okay if I didn't state my business with the tool I made. And now you are trying to extract information from me. That was not our deal!" Hiccup finished. Where did he found the guts to say that to a man that could break him in two with only one hand? Audun face started to get calm again.

"You are right. I was afraid for my people. I am sure you understand. After all, you are also a chief." Audun slowly said while giving Hiccup back his swords.

"I...I am not a chief." Hiccup said accepting his weapons and slowly attaching the scabbards to his belt.

"You are the chief of something. No one manages to find that strength if they are not born to lead." Audun said before patting Hiccup on his back. "Now go back to your boat. And don't hesitate to come and trade with us again. We are a small village, but we are friendly to honest persons." Hiccup slowly smiled at Audun's declaration. Before he could say something, a villager yelled. "DRAGON ATTACK!" Hiccup quickly turned around and noticed two Gronckles.

_Oh no. _

"Men, grab your weapons." Audun yelled trying to organize his warriors to defeat the two dragons.

"I can help." Hiccup quickly said, running and trying to distract a Gronckle. The dragon started to charge at Hiccup, when the boy slowly drew his swords and dropped them on the ground, the Gronckle slowed down until it was a few feet away from the boy. He noticed that this dragon was slightly red, while the other one was a little yellower.

"It's okay. I am not going to hurt you." Hiccup said slowly approaching the confused dragon. No one ever tried to _not_ kill them. Why was this boy different?

'He is not going to hurt you. Trust him.' Stormfly quickly jumped from the forest in the village when she noticed the Gronckles charging. The other Gronckle slowly stopped and approached Hiccup.

"Don't attack them!" Hiccup yelled at Audun and his warriors. The chief slowly made a sign and his vikings started to back away and get in a more relaxed stance. "Stormfly, can you help me talk to them?" Hiccup said slightly turning to face Astrid's dragon. The Nadder quickly nodded and approached the teen and the two Gronckles.

'He is a friend with dragons. I know him. He healed my wing and he lives with another human and with a Night Fury on his island.' Stormfly said trying to calm the Gronckles.

'How do we know it's not just a trick?' the first Gronckle said, the one that was slightly redder.

'Yes, how do we know that?' the second Gronckle finished, the one that was slightly yellower.

Hiccup slowly got between the two Gronckles and placed his hands on their snouts.

'What is he doing?' the first Gronckle asked.

'No other human tried to be friendly with us before.' the second Gronckle finished.

"I can feel your distrust. But I will not hurt you. And no one will hurt you from this village. Right?" Hiccup said slowly turning his head to look at Audun.

"Yes. We won't hurt you as long as you won't hurt us," the chief said slowly lowering his axe. The rest of the vikings followed their chief and within a few seconds, none of the vikings were armed anymore.

'Maybe we should kill him to be sure this is not a cunning trap.' the second Gronckle said.

"I promise you this is not a trap." Hiccup said turning his head to face the yellower Gronckle.

Everyone one was staring at him. No one from the village had any idea what was he doing. He was talking to the dragons. He managed to calm two Gronckles that wanted to raid them in just a minute. Even the dragons looked surprised at him when he assured the Gronckles that this was not a trap.

'Can you understand us?' Stormfly said slowly approaching Hiccup and the two dragons. Hiccup turned to look at Stormfly, like he knew that she said something, but not really managing to understand her. 'Can. You. Understand. Us?' Stormfly asked again, a little more slowly.

"I...I think so." Hiccup answered releasing a small laugh.

'Can he understand us?' the first Gronckle answered.

'Yes, he slightly can.' Stormfly answered with a proud voice.

'We can't kill him then. He would know that we want to kill him and he will kill us.' the second Gronckle said.

'Let's try not to kill him for now. He seems like a nice person.' the first Gronckle said

"I won't try to kill you." Hiccup said trying to hold his excitement about him understanding dragons. This was a glorious day. He didn't die. He made the rod for Toothless's flying gear. He made an alliance with a small village. And now he could finally talk with Toothless. He couldn't wait to get home.

'What did he say?' the first Gronckle asked looking at Stormfly.

'He is not going to kill you. He wants to be friends with you. He is not like the other humans, he befriended a Night Fury before me and two other Terrible Terrors.' Stormfly answered.

'When you say a Nigh Fury, you mean _Waelise_?' the second Gronckle asked.

'He hates to be called like that, but yes. He befriended_ Waelise.'_ Stormfly said a little sad that she had to call Toothless by that name.

"Who is_ Waelise_?" Hiccup asked slowly turning to face Stormfly. He was still holding his hands on the two Gronckles snouts.

'Hiccup, we will talk when we get home.' Stormfly slowly said, making sure that Hiccup understood her. He quietly nodded and turned his attention back at the Gronckles.

"What do you say Stormfly, should we bring them home?" Hiccup asked the Nadder with a small smile. He managed to befriend another two dragons.

'Where does he want to take us?' the first Gronckle asked.

'Yes, what does he plan to do?' the second Gronckle finished.

'He wants you two to join us on his island. There is plenty of food and there are three other dragons there. We could even try to hunt animals from other islands with you guys. We could really use your help.' Stormfly said trying to convince them. If they managed to make the two Gronckles join them, they could actually try and raid a small village or a small ship. They could finally start to make a name for themselves.

'Sure, we will join you.' the first Gronckle said.

'Are you sure?' the second one asked.

'This boy could change the entire archipelago. And I will be damned if I won't try to help him.' the first one said playfully nudging Hiccup's hand.

'Then I will also join you.' the second one said.

Hiccup released a small laugh. He managed to bring two other dragons to help his cause. Now they were slowly becoming a force. He slowly removed his hands from the two dragon's snouts and approached Audun.

"So, can we form an alliance?" Hiccup asked extending his hand.

"You surely are something." Audun said while heartily shacking his hand. "But I must ask, what is your name?"

"Fáfnir." Hiccup said. He was going to use his new name. He was 'Hiccup' only to his closest friends. Well, friend. From now on, he would be Fáfnir in any other contest. People will learn to respect this name. His enemies will learn to fear his name. He was going to tell Audun about his real name, but later, after he was sure he won't betray him.

He then slowly grabbed his swords from the ground and mounted Stormfly. They left the island and starting to head home. In more than half a hour they reached his island. The Gronckles were slightly slowing them down. They had a very slow and heavy way of flying. He knew that they could be powerful cannons and battering rams, but they were just _so_ slow.

He was pretty sure that he didn't take more than three hours for his little trip. When they reached the cave, he quickly dismounted and ran inside hoping to find Astrid.

She was sitting near the fire, leaning on Toothless's side, skinning a boar. When she noticed him she started to smile. Hiccup quickly approached her and kissed her heartily. Before things could get out of hand again, he quickly backed a little and said.

"I want you to meet somebody."

"Who?" Astrid asked a little confused, but also excited by his return.

"Come let's go to meet them." Hiccup said before picking her up in his arms and quickly getting her outside. There she noticed two Gronckles.

"They are not going to hurt us right?" Astrid asked a little worried, looking at their new friends.

"I hope not." Hiccup said before placing a small kiss on her cheek.

"What are their names?" Astrid asked. The two Gronckles also noticed the girl and slowly approached her.

"I didn't name them yet." He let her down near a tree. Astrid noticed that the redder dragon was a little smaller than the other one, but he also looked a little more intelligent. She slowly placed her hand on his snout. The dragon was a little surprised that the girl didn't seemed aggressive at all. She looked content with them being here. She was going to protect them. A human they just met was going to defend them against other of her own kind. Those two humans could change the entire archipelago.

"Skuller. You like that name?" Astrid asked the redder dragon. He was shocked to be given a name. He playfully nudged her hand. Astrid smiled at his gestured and started to scratch him on his head.

"Then you will be Nubs." Hiccup said while approaching the other Gronckle. He then started to pet him.

Toothless slowly got outside with Ild and Blad to meet the new family members. In just a few hours, the two Gronckles turned from raiding a village, to becoming family members with two humans and four other dragons. When they noticed the Night Fury they slowly backed away and looked at him.

'So it's true. _Waelise _is really here.' Nubs said starring at Toothless. The Nigh Fury looked insulted at the two of them. He hated to be called like that. He hated that he was one of the most powerful dragons and that he was humiliated and exiled by his kind. He hated that he had to join an incompetent Dragon Queen and that no one liked him there.

'I will kill both of you if you ever call me by that name again.' Toothless calmly said looking at them. He hadn't been called by that name in a very long time. He almost forgot his painful past. He really hoped that the other dragons forgot about him.

'I am sorry for my friend. He is not very clever.' Skuller said carefully approaching Toothless, trying not to leave a bad first impression.

'Now, let me make myself clear. You will have to follow a few rules if you want to live here.' Toothless said looking at them. He quickly glared at Skuller and the Gronckle stopped in his tracks.

'Yes. Of course. We are listening.' Skuller quickly said.

'Hiccup is the leader and you will follow his orders. Astrid is the second in charge and you will follow her orders. And I am third in charge, and guess what?' Toothless said trying to look calm, but also intimidating. He usually didn't care about this kind of stuff. Stormfly always commanded Ild and Blad, because he let her. He made her his 'lieutenant', so that he wouldn't have to deal with this kind of stuff.

'We will follow your orders.' Nubs completed his sentence.

'Exactly. But most of the time I let Stormfly deal with this kind of stuff, since I trust her. So you will also have to listen to her.' Toothless said slowly looking at Stormfly. The dragon was trying not to laugh at Toothless's attitude. He was just trying to look tough in front of the 'new recruits'. It was true that she commanded Ild and Blad, but only because they liked her. But this whole rank stuff will pay off in the future, when they would have tens of dragons, or even more.

'I hope that everything is clear.' Stormfly joined Toothless, trying to intimidate the new dragons.

'Yes. Of course. Say that everything is clear Nubs.' Skuller quickly responded.

'Everything is clear.' the other Gronckle quickly said.

'And the most important thing. I don't know you. I don't know what are you capable of. I don't know and I don't care about your intentions here. But if any of you will hurt or injure Hiccup or Astrid. I will become your worst _nightmare_. Hope that I make myself clear.' Toothless said finally approaching the two Gronckles and glaring at them.

"What are they doing?" Astrid asked.

"Toothless is just making sure that they will follow the rules." Hiccup said slightly amused by Toothless's actions.

"And what rules would those be?" She asked a little confused.

"Well, the first one would be that I am first in command and you are second in command after me." Hiccup started to say.

"Like I would ever listen to you." Astrid said laughing, playfully hitting Hiccup in the shoulder.

"Don't hurt me or Toothless will become your _nightmare_." Hiccup said laughing at Toothless's little speech.

'What the heck is his problem? I am just trying to make some order here.' Toothless said noticing Hiccup making fun of him.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	11. Fáfnir

****Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. ******Also thank you for the reviews and for making this story reach 10.000 views. You guys are amazing!  
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"WHAT? HICCUP CAME BACK TO BERK?" Stoick yelled after he heard Snotlout's story.

"Yes. And he had Astrid with him." Snotlout said trying to create more tension in the council.

"I told you we should have executed her." Spitelout said after his son's declaration.

"Let's not get over our heads." Gobber said. "I am sure there is a perfectly logical explanation to all this."

"Yes, there is, she betrayed the viking ways and joined that runt." Spitelout yelled, trying to prove his point.

The doors of the Great Hall were violently opened by Cuyler, Astrid's father. He was also part of the council. He was sleeping when he was announced that his daughter was spotted in the village. He was a tall viking, not as muscular as the others, but he was famous for his talent with ranged weapons. No one could best him in a archery competition. His other very distinctive trait, was the lack of beard, he hated to have his face covered by all that hair. If the weather was bad and windy, all that hair could distract him from scoring a perfect shot. The other members of the council and Snotlout all stood in silence while Cuyler approached the young viking.

"Tell me what happened!" He said with a very serious and cold voice. He never got over the fact that he had to banish his daughter. He loved her. He still loved her. He hated to have to do that, but if he didn't, she would be dead now. She would have been executed with that cursed Blood Eagle. Why in Thor's name did she had to help that useless runt? He was nervously pacing near the Jorgenson boy.

"I quickly ran into the forest ahead of the search party trying to stop them. I noticed them in the distance and I shot an arrow so that I could slow them and it hit Astrid in the leg." Snotlout began to say the story again then Cuyler stopped and glared at the boy.

"YOU DID WHAT?" he yelled approaching Snotlout. "You shot my girl with an arrow?" Cuyler almost hit him when Spitelout stood up.

"She is a traitor. She knew that she wasn't supposed to return to Berk until she killed him. She returned to Berk with him and stole weapons from our forge." Spitelout explained to his friend Cuyler. This was a bad time for him to go berserk. The council needed him calm.

"Continue." Cuyler said trying to calm himself.

"I noticed Hiccup breaking the arrow and causing her pain. What kind of person would break an arrow while it pierced someone's leg." Snotlout said the last sentence under his breath, trying to make the council angrier at Hiccup.

"A person that know that this is the best way to slow the bleeding and the movement of the wound. A person that was going to remove that arrow later." Gobber declared. He taught Hiccup how to remove an arrow after one of his weapons backfired. A weapon he called _crossbow_. He managed to shoot himself with a small arrow in the shoulder and Gobber had to break the arrow's tail to reduce the movement of the object in his shoulder, then he quickly equipped his grapples in his removable hand and removed the rest of the arrow from Hiccup's shoulder. He was lucky that it didn't hit any important spots. "I taught him how to remove an arrow. The girl is most likely safe." Gobber said looking and Cuyler.

"So as I was saying. After he broke the arrow he took her in his arms and entered a cove in the forest. I followed them inside and I saw a Monstrous Nightmare and two Deadly Nadders. He placed Astrid on a Nadder and he wanted to mount the other one. But I quickly drew my bow and shoot an arrow at him, and I managed to hit his shoulder. He yelled like a girl and told the Monstrous Nightmare to attack me. That is how I got this burn." Snotlout proudly said pointing at his burned face. He finally had a battle scar that he could show off with.

"So let me get this straight. That useless runt managed to _carry_ Astrid in his arms and place her on a dragon, and then you shot an arrow at him and he yelled like a girl?" Cuyler said while looking at Snotlout with a very distrustful face.

"Well, yea." Snotlout confirmed again.

"How did you get that cut on your neck?" Cuyler asked approaching the boy.

"One of the Nadders shot spikes at me, I managed to dodge the most, but one slightly scratched my neck.

"You know that the Nadders spikes are poisonous. If you were truly hit by a spike then you should be dead by now." Gobber said looking surprised at the boy.

"Tell us what really happened!" Stoick said raising from his seat at the end of the main table.

"Fine." Snotlout said rolling his eyes. Nothing was wrong with his story. He only changed a few details to make himself look more viking like. There was nothing wrong with that. "He placed Astrid on an Nadder and then we fought..."

"And Hiccup defeated you?" Gobber interrupted the boy with a shocked expression.

"Because he cheated." Snotlout quickly yelled to cover his humility.

"How could a runt beat you, even if he cheated?" Spitelout now said raising from his chair.

"He made a Terrible Terror attack me." Snotlout said while crossing his arms over his chest, trying to prove his point. Trying to convince them that he didn't stand a chance.

"Let me get this straight. Hiccup defeated you, the boy that couldn't even lift a sword, defeated you with a small Terror?" Gobber said trying not to laugh.

"It was bigger than most. And he also used two swords." Snotlout defended Himself.

Stoick started to laugh. He found that totally unbelievable. "Okay now son, you made your joke. Now tell us what really happened." The chief said sitting down and drinking some mead from his mug.

"This is the truth. We were fighting and I was defeating him, when a Terrible Terror attacked me. When I was busy fighting the Terror he disarmed me and tried to kill me." Snotlout said with a humiliated voice.

"You don't expect me to believe that my son, who never fought anyone in his life, managed to learn how to dual wield in just three months. For Thor's sake, he couldn't even use _a _sword. So how could he learn to use _two _swords in just three months." Stoick said looking with disbelief at his nephew.

"Astrid trained him." Cuyler said, he was silent before, but now he finally spoke out. "She met him and she couldn't kill him. So they became friends and she trained him."

"And how do you know that?" Spitelout asked with a suspicious look.

"Because I know my daughter," he said glaring at the Jorgenson's family head. "She never had the guts to hurt him. She liked him. She liked your runt Stoick, and that made her weak. I hoped that she got over him when she was exiled because of his actions. But I was wrong." Cuyler then started to go to the table and get himself a mug of mead.

"Hiccup is ambidextrous, so he could easily learn how to use two swords." Gobber pointed out.

"He also said something else before he left." Snotlout slowly began to say. "He told me to say to you that he is Fáfnir."

As Snotlout finished his sentence, Stoick stood up angrily and hit the wooden table with his fist, breaking it in two. He then turned and looked at Snotlout. "What did you say?" he asked his nephew.

"He is Fáfnir." the Jorgenson boy said, not fully understanding why was the chief so angry.

"Are you sure about this?" his father asked him.

"Yes, I am sure." Snotlout confirmed. "But what's the big deal? Hiccup created a fake name to scare us." The boy continued.

"His dragon ate a man alive at his command. And maimed the other man that tried to help his friend." Cuyler said. "Astrid, what have you got yourself into?" her father said under his breath.

"Put three gold pieces bounty on them dead. Five gold pieces alive." Stoick said before leaving the table to get more mead for himself.

"NO! Don't do that Stoick! Please!" Cuyler started to beg the chief after he heard his intentions.

"They must be killed or brought back to be taught a lesson." Spitelout said.

"You can't be serious Stoick. This is your son." Gobber implored his friend.

Stoick slowly turned around to face him. "I have no son." Those were the last words the chief said before leaving the rest of the council in the Great Hall.

The whole village was angry at the two traitors. They had to stop a wedding, a sacred event, to make a decision about the two imbeciles that stole from Berk. Snotlout finally got out of the Great Hall, after the counsel finished questioning him. He noticed Fishlegs and the twins waiting for him outside.

"It is true what they said? Was Astrid really here?" Fishlegs quickly asked.

"Yes, she was here. And I, the Great Viking Snotlout, managed to shoot her with an arrow. So I managed to kill a traitor." the teen said proudly.

"They said she survived." Tuffnut said looking at Snotlout with disbelief.

"So if you really hit her with an arrow, you are a dead man." Ruffnut said.

"And then she will resurrect you and kill you again." Tuffnut finished. The twins were dully observing him. They didn't believe that he shot Astrid. Who was stupid enough to shoot an arrow at Astrid? You would only do that if you wanted a slow and painfully death.

"And is it true that you fought Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked after the twins finished. He was trying to hold his concern hidden. He knew that they didn't treated Hiccup that well in the past, so it was fairly possible for him to want to have his revenge on Berk. He had dragons now. He didn't liked the idea of being killed by a boy that commanded dragons.

"Yes. I fought him. And..." Snotlout began to say.

"He humiliated you." Tuffnut quickly interrupted the teen. Then the twins started laughing at Snotlout and slowly turned to leave.

"I almost got him!" Snotlout yelled looking at the teens.

"So Hiccup really defeated you?" Fishlegs asked looking surprised at the other boy.

"Just...He had dragons! Okay? I had no chance against him. He cheated." Snotlout said trying to defend his remaining honor before ignoring Fishlegs and going home.

...

"You are not going to do that!" Helga yelled at her husband.

"They want to kill her. Stoick put a fucking bounty on her head! Three gold pieces for her dead, five for her alive. I must go and find her." Cuyler said.

"You can't help her now! She is probably Hiccup's prisoner. He would kill her if you approach him or his dragons." his wife tried to reason with him.

"I would gut him and all his damned reptiles! He will not hurt my little girl! I will go and find her, and make sure she will never return to this cursed place. I must make sure that no viking would find her and hurt her." Cuyler said while getting his famous bow, that he made from the remains of a Boneknapper. His bow was strong and resilient, he had won the right to use that weapon and he was the best marksman in the entire Barbaric Archipelago.

"Cuyler, just, be careful." Helga said hugging his husband, maybe for the last time.

"I have to protect my little Valkyrie." He said returning the hug. Then he quickly left her. He went to the docks and got a small boat. It was slightly bigger than the boat Astrid was forced to leave on. Before he could sail in the distance, he noticed Gobber approaching.

"Are you going to find them?" the blacksmith said looking at him.

"I am going to find my daughter and make sure that no one will hurt her." He said throwing some supplies in his boat.

"When you find Hiccup, can you please give him this sword. It was a project he worked on before he left." Gobber said approaching Cuyler and giving him a sword that was covered in a wolf pelt.

"Why would I give him a weapon? They already stole from us." Cuyler said looking annoyed at his friend._ Why was he trying to help Hiccup?_

"As you said, you are going to help your daughter and I want to help my son. Well, not my real son, but he was like a son to me. And I am pretty sure that they are together wherever they are." Gobber said giving the weapon to Cuyler.

"If he hurt her. I will kill him." Cuyler said looking at Gobber.

"Just make sure that it's going to be a fair fight." Gobber said laughing a little at his joke. Then he stood at the docks and watched as Cuyler slowly disappeared into the night.

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**Another small chapter, but it will be important for the storyline. And for those of you who were wondering why I named Astrid's father 'Cuyler' it's a secret :) Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	12. Reunion

****Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. ******Also thank you for the reviews and********** **the support**.

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"You used to be better than this." Hiccup said parrying and dodging Astrid's attacks.

"It's. Not. My. Fault." Astrid said, trying to hit Hiccup.

After her injury she couldn't train for a month. A whole month. That slightly weakened her muscles and now Hiccup was better than her. _Hiccup_, the screw-up of Berk, was now a better fighter than _Astrid. _He didn't stop his training while Astrid was healing. She would sit and watch him train for hours, but she never thought that her suggestion and her inactivity would make him better than her. After her foot finally healed, she didn't start to train with him from the first day, she took a week to recover herself and to get used to walking and running again. After almost an hour of training with him, she abandoned Hiccup and ran away to be alone. She couldn't understand how he got better than her. And _so_ much better. She couldn't land a hit in their entire practice and he defeated her more than ten times in those sixty minutes. When Hiccup finally found her, she was quietly sobbing on a cliff, looking at the sea. Then he promised her that he would do anything in his power to help her, that was the moment when he promised to give his best to help her be the a better fighter than him, so she could defeat him, again. And since then, they have been training with real weapons, he wanted to help Astrid be the axe wielder that she was before and he was confident enough to block and dodge her attacks, so it was a win-win situation.

"Yes, I know, it's Snotlout's fault for giving you a forced break." He said while trying to counter one of her attacks, but she quickly noticed his intentions and backed away.

"But why did you have to train without me...?" Astrid said with an exasperated and frustrated voice. She got into a more relaxed position, saying that she didn't want to train anymore.

"You suggested that because you wanted me to be a challenge to you." Hiccup said, relaxing his grip on his swords.

"I said a challenge. Not utterly impossible." She said, making an annoyed sigh.

"Astrid...I...Wait, you really think you can't defeat me?" Hiccup said, slowly realizing that he had become a very skilled fighter. But at his question, Astrid just got more angry and placed a strong grip with both of her hands on her axe and with a skilled move, she threw the axe at Hiccup, but the boy was now experienced at dodging flying stuff that came at him and gracefully dodged her axe.

"Argh!" Astrid made a noise before starting to walk aggressively away from Hiccup.

"Astrid." Hiccup said releasing his weapons and following her.

"NO. Leave me alone..." Astrid said pushing Hiccup away when he reached her and tried to hug her.

"You know you won't be able to get rid of me, don't you?" He asked facing Astrid.

"I...Just...Why did you have to get so good..." She said punching his chest. Hiccup got used with her small break downs after their training. She did this almost every day. He figured that she still thought of him as a hiccup and that she couldn't stand the fact that a _hiccup _was better than her in combat, so that would lead to all this stress and frustration. The problem is, that he wasn't a _hiccup _anymore, he was taller than her, he had grown some muscles with all his training and he just wasn't the small, weak boy he was. If before he couldn't defeat Snotlout, now he would have no problem in winning against him. Astrid saw him evolve a lot with all his individual training, but she didn't know that she would devolve in that time. That was her only problem. She was proud of Hiccup's evolution, but she was stressed about her involution.

"I had a good teacher." Hiccup said, slowly grabbing her and bringing her closer to him.

"You trained mostly alone..." She said with a sad voice, but accepting his hug.

"You were there and supported me. Don't you think I forgot how you yelled at me when I did something wrong." Hiccup said trying to light the mood a little. Astrid released a small laugh at his joke, but she was still disappointed by her incapacity of beating his ass in training.

"But you could get over your small mistakes. When you defeat me in a duel I just get so mad that I can't see straight anymore."

"What did I promise you?" Hiccup asked looking at her.

"That Toothless won't try to kill me if I don't hurt you?" Astrid jokingly asked. She was her old self again. Her small break downs didn't last long, but were painful to watch for Hiccup, he didn't like to see her like this. He didn't like to see her sad and annoyed, frustrated and helpless. Hiccup didn't want for her to feel helpless, he was there for her.

"No." The boy said, hugging her again.

"That after my leg healed you would teach me how to ride Stormfly?"

"Nope. Not that one."

"Oh. You mean that you'll give your all to help me become the best warrior around, again."

"Yup. That was the one I was thinking of." Hiccup said quickly kissing her. "Now let's go back to training."

Astrid looked cheered up at Hiccup as he went back to their 'arena' to train. She couldn't believe how much he cared for her. He was going to probably waste another month or more before she could be back to her old self. In that time he could befriend different dragons and make small diplomatic missions to other small villages to convince them to accept his protectorate, or he could be working in the forge with the Gronckles to make more armors and weapons to sell them, or he could even work on one of his ridiculous inventions or even his leather armor. She finally followed him and noticed him standing in near a tree with his swords near him.

"Are you ready?" He asked noticing her.

"You know how much time you wasted training me?" She asked, getting her axe from the ground.

"You know how much time I wasted not being near you?" He said equipping his weapons. Astrid couldn't help but to feel a little happy about this, but their quest could be going a lot faster if she wasn't a dead weight right now.

"Seriously now, Hiccup. You could have befriended different dragons or help the village to forge more stuff. Or to even try to get another village in your protectorate." She asked a little confused by his judgment.

"We only train for a few hours together, then you know that I go flying with Toothless to make a map of the surrounding area. And sometimes I do stuff. Don't worry, I haven't forgot the plan. But you are a priority now." He said approaching her.

"Aww. You are saying this just so that I'll feel bad after I kick your ass." Astrid said before charging at him.

...

After the 'arrow incident' Hiccup was always by Astrid's side, trying to make sure she was comfortable and help her with everything he could. She liked to have him always around, always by her side, this made the healing process a lot more faster and easier to bear. But he was a little _too_ worried about her, after she finally healed, he didn't want to train her how to fly with Stormfly. He was too worried that she would injure herself or worse. So she usually sneaked away at night with her Nadder and went out flying. Even the other dragons kept the secret away from Hiccup, even they noticed that he was being overdramatic about this. She was big enough to take care of herself, she was still slightly injured, but Hiccup was exaggerating. When he finally accepted to teach her, Hiccup was quickly surprised by her fast learning. Little did he know that her _talent_ at flying was just a long series of trial and error. After a few official days of training, she had the splendid idea to challenge him to an official race to Jàrnstarfa, Audun's village. He got there fifteen minutes before her.

They usually flew to Jàrnstarfa at the end of each week, to help the small village with trade and the forge. Hiccup and the local blacksmith managed to create about twenty swords and ten axes in a week and they could sell those weapons for three gold nuggets. He was even suggesting to train another blacksmith so that they could forge a lot more weapons in a shorter time, they had the materials, but they didn't really have the manpower. The weapons Hiccup made were highly demanded by the nobles of different villages. Of course that they kept Hiccup a secret, only Audun knowing his true identity. He was marked as a traitor in the entire archipelago, so if someone would see him, they wouldn't hesitate to capture or to kill him for the bounty. So Astrid would usually deal with the traders, which was a good thing since she was a little more diplomatic than Hiccup and since she was young and beautiful, she could try to charm different merchants for a better bargain. And, slowly but surely, the village was growing thanks to their help.

This week they went a little earlier, since Astrid needed a break from training. They took Ild and Blad on every trip they went on. The two Terrible Terrors had proven very useful in a lot of situations. They could sent messages to each other, they could use the small dragons to scout the area and now that they understood them, the information they brought back was a lot more useful, they could even use the two dragons in combat, their grip was annoying on every enemy and their small fireball had proven useful on a number of situations.

After another one of their races, they finally reached the village. They were loved there. Everyone knew them and respected them. The two teens managed to bring the small village on the map with the new type of iron that had been 'discovered' on the island and with the skilled blacksmiths that lived in the village. Those vikings quickly accepted dragons after they saw what Hiccup could do with them. They had three Deadly Nadder and four Gronckles protecting them. The dragons lived discreetly in the forest. They would hunt or fish and sometimes the villagers would bring them food. They managed to take care of themselves and to make the vikings feel safe in their homes. The village only had four guards and the rest of the vikings worked at transporting stuff from the forge to the docks and to the warehouse. So far a lot of different vikings wanted to move and live in the village, but they were all rejected so far, Audun and Hiccup weren't sure how they would react to dragons if they would knew the truth. They wanted to keep it safe for now. Maybe after they had enough dragons to protect the island, they would make public their protectorate of the dragons and more villages would join, but so far they were still weak. They were stronger than most small parties in the Barbaric Archipelago, but they couldn't face the army of a strong village or the army of an alliance.

"I will go and talk to Audun about the new trader." Astrid said before quickly kissing Hiccup and letting him on his own.

Their dragons were used to go to the forest after they arrived in the village. They understood that any visiting vikings or traders could prove to be a threat to the village if they were seen in the small settlement. Before even noticing, Hiccup was left on his own in the village market. He slowly started to walk to the forge to get working. He just left the market, when he was suddenly jerked around and felt a sudden and powerful pain in his chest. In a few seconds, he was lying on the ground with a knife at his throat. A foot on his chest to keep him down.

"Where is she?" A bearded man asked him. He couldn't comprehend what just happened. Who was this guy? What was he doing here? And most important, why in Hel's name was he threatening Hiccup with a knife?

"Who the heck are you?" Hiccup asked, slowly recovering from the initial shock.

"I am the one who fucking asks the question! So where is..." The man stopped when he felt a cold blade on his own throat.

"Get off him now, or I will kill you where you stand." Astrid said, slowly pressing her dagger on the man's neck. He then slowly turned around.

"Astrid?" The man asked with a small sparkle in his eyes.

"Dad?" The girl said slowly lowering her weapon. Then they quickly jumped and hugged each other. It had been five months since they last saw each other. Five frickin months.

"What are you doing here dad?" Astrid asked with tears slowly dropping from her eyes. She missed her parents. Even if they were harsh on her on times, they made her the strong girl she was today. They made her a warrior.

"I am here to take care of you. After your small adventure on Berk, you got a bounty on your head." Cuyler slowly said. "I am going to protect you from those vikings and from this runt." He said slowly turning to face Hiccup.

"But I am fine here. I made friends here, and Hiccup is protecting me." She said trying not to feel insulted by her father for calling her boyfriend a 'runt'.

"How can this disgusting spawn of Loki protect you?" He said releasing Astrid and turning to face Hiccup now. He wanted to hurt the boy for making him banish his daughter and after that, putting a bounty on her head, but most of all, he wanted to hurt him for bringing her back on Berk to be shot by Snotlout.

"He saved my life. Three times." Astrid said making her father look at him.

"This pathetic, craven worm saved you life?" Her father asked Astrid looking surprised at her.

"I'm right here for Thor's sake." Hiccup said getting annoyed by her father.

"Just. Shut up." He said looking at Hiccup. Then, he quickly turned to look at his daughter, "Astrid, we have to leave." Cuyler grabbed her arm.

"I am not going anywhere." Astrid quickly shot back.

"You would rather stay with the runt that got you shot by an arrow than you father?" Cuyler asked looking surprised at her. He expected her to want to run from the boy after what he had done.

"I...Don't...Stop calling him a runt!" Astrid said trying to understand what is happening. Hiccup slowly approached her. He knew those rare moments when she was panicking and that she didn't react good when she panicked. When Astrid noticed him closing by, trying to support her, she quickly jumped and hugged him. Her father looked at them with a disappointed look.

"I see..." Cuyler said. "For how long?"

"Two months." Astrid quickly responded holding Hiccup by her side. She didn't want to leave Hiccup for her father, but leaving her father on his own, just, seemed wrong. After everything that happened. He left Berk to try and protect her. He abandoned his home to support his daughter. And now, he wanted her to choose between them. She could never choose between Hiccup and her father. They both helped her a lot. Her father made her the warrior she is today, taught her the art of combat and the strengths of each weapon and armor. But Hiccup helped her understand dragons, he helped her to change her mentality in better, he gave her the possibility to change the world. He gave her the possibility to finally achieve peace with the dragons.

"I am not going to abandon you again." Her father said, looking at the two teens. "I am certainly not going to leave you with this runt." Hiccup was just angrily glaring at the man. "You were a screw-up and you will always be a weakling." Cuyler said, noticing Hiccup's anger. When he said that, Hiccup's anger reached its limits. He wasn't going to let Astrid go with the person that banished her from Berk, not after all this time he spent with her. So blinded by his anger, he quickly placed a powerful punch on Cuyler face. The man was took by surprise by Hiccup's reaction, how could the 'runt' expect to defeat him.

"Hiccup don't! Please!" Astrid quickly yelled noticing Hiccup's action. Her father was surprised by this. She was begging the runt not to hurt him. Why? He could defeat Hiccup with one hand behind his back. He was a weakling and he always would be a weakling. The teen tried to hit him again, but now, Cuyler caught his fist and hit his ribs with his free hand. He then grabbed Hiccup and threw him to the ground near him. He quickly got his dagger and put it on the boy's neck.

"Any last words, _rat_?" Cuyler asked, mocking Hiccup.

"You have exactly five seconds to get off me." Hiccup said glaring at the man. Cuyler was shocked to see that the boy was dead serious. There wasn't any glimpse of fear in his eyes.

"Hiccup. Please don't do this." Astrid said watching the scene. She was scared that one of them was going to die now. She loved them both. She didn't want any of them to be hurt, but they are just too stubborn for their own good.

"Why in Hel's name are you telling him to sto..." Cuyler began to say as he slowly turned around to look at her daughter. Behind him there were four Deadly Nadders, with their spikes prepared to be shot at him and two Gronckles were ready to ram at him.

"Three." Hiccup said, still trying to be intimidating, but in truth, he was bluffing, he didn't know if the man was going to bite the bait, but there was no other choise, he could die now. He just had to get angry before and charge madly at a veteran viking. What was he thinking? Oh. He was trying to protect his honor and Astrid, that is what he was doing. But he never had any honor before, so why was he trying so hard to keep the respect he had now? Because he finally had the guts to follow his instinct. The fact that he escaped Berk and managed to befriend more than eight dragons gave him the courage he lacked before. And the fact that he managed to make Astrid his girlfriend surely helped a lot.

When Cuyler heard Hiccup he slowly let him go. He wasn't going to die now, not after he finally managed to found his daughter.

"Have you never heard of Fáfnir?" Astrid yelled at her father. She didn't dare to approach any of them since she didn't want to choose between them.

"I did. And I knew it was Hiccup. But how...?" He said looking at the dragons that were prepared to kill him.

"This went better than I expected." Hiccup said slowly getting up, holding one hand over his over his now injured chest.

"You didn't plan any of this?!" The man asked shocked turning around to face Hiccup.

"I was hoping that Toothless wouldn't come. You should be happy that he didn't." Hiccup said while gently leaning on a Nadder.

"Toothless?!" Cuyler asked with a mocking tone. "What was he going to do, look angrily at me?" Hiccup laughed a little at his comment.

"You said you have heard of Fáfnir. Now I notice that you don't know shit." Hiccup said, still trying to look threatening.

"Watch your tongue you little runt!"

"If you know so much, tell me what dragon does Fáfnir ride."

"Snotlout said he saw you on a Nadder taking Astrid away."

"He is an idiot and I asked you what dragon Fáfnir rides, not what dragon carried me and Astrid away from Berk that night."

"A black dragon. The pirate was too stupid to recognize it." Cuyler said not knowing what is the sense of this conversation.

"He didn't recognize it because no one saw it before." Hiccup said.

"And why is that?" Cuyler asked, mocking Hiccup again.

"Because it's _the unholy offspring of lighting and death itself _and it's very protective." Hiccup said, noticing Cuyler expression slowly starting to pale.

"A Nightfury? You ride a Nightfury?" He asked shocked looking at the boy.

"Hiccup, we still have to talk to the new trader, so, can you two finish this another time?" Astrid asked, approaching Hiccup and helping him to walk away.

"Are you serious? Now?" Cuyler asked his daughter.

"He is already here and I need to talk to him to make a deal for the weapons." Astrid explained helping Hiccup to sit down on a barrel.

"He wanted to kill me. WITH DRAGONS!" Her father yelled. "How could you love him after he befriended dragons?!"

Astrid gave her father a sad look. "Dad... I befriended three of those Nadders and the two Gronckles that are here." She said, trying not to face her father, but instead trying to help Hiccup with his wound. She thought that he broke a rib or something. Hiccup was still kind of small compared to other vikings and a direct punch from her father would cause some damage.

"WHAT?!" Te yelled at her.

"YES! DRAGONS ARE FRIENDLY AND THEY AREN'T THE BEASTS WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!" The yelled back annoyed at her father. She never did that, but she was just so angry that he hurt Hiccup. That her father hurt _her _Hiccup. Cuyler was now looking at her as she was trying to somehow reduce the pain in Hiccup's chest. He was shocked by her reaction. She would have never done something like that before. She wouldn't have dared to treat her father with disrespect before. That _runt _changed her. Hiccup managed to destroy all that he created for fifteen years in just five months. He managed to make Astrid forget about their viking heritage and _befriend _the beasts that killed them for generations.

"I underestimated your destructive powers." Cuyler said with a weak voice, looking at Hiccup.

"DAD! Don't. Go. There." Astrid said with a threatening voice while glaring at her father. But Hiccup grabbed her hand, stopping her. He then slowly got up and approached the viking.

"I tried to protect Astrid since she first arrived to my island, three months ago. That was your job, as a father, to defend your daughter from the world. I did MY best to protect her. So don't try to place your failure as a parent on me. YOU were the one that banished her from Berk. YOU were the one that abandoned her. YOU were supposed to be there for her after everything she went through. And I will use my _destructive powers _to make all you stupid vikings understand that the viking way is WRONG." Hiccup yelled at the man.

"You better watch your tongue boy. I am not afraid of joining my friends in Valhalla." Cuyler warned him.

"Of course you are not." Hiccup shot back with a mocking tone. "You made sure that you have enough blood on your hands to make it difficult for us to achieve peace with an enemy we can't possibly defeat."

"The dragons _can _and _will_ be defeated. We just have to find the nest." Cuyler said.

"You really think it's that easy? There are six different nests that I know only in the Barbaric Archipelago. You have no possibility to defeat them. Even if you manage to destroy one, the years that would take to recover the manpower would be more than enough for the nest to be rebuilt."

"That can't be true." Cuyler said, looking surprised at Hiccup. That information couldn't be true. There was no possible way to be _that_ many dragons.

A new person joined the conversation. "You must be Astrid. The chief told me that I could find you here." All of them looked surprised at the new person. Cuyler didn't even noticed when the dragons sneaked away.

"Yes. I am Astrid." The girl said with a forced small smile on her face. She didn't want to let Hiccup and her father alone, things could get ugly.

"Let me introduce myself. I am Ealdwine and I came all the way from Somerset to make a trade agreement for your excellent weapons." The man said.

Well, this was bad. Astrid wasn't in the mood for this now. Things were just to tense right now for her to think about how she could get more silver from him.

"Wait a few seconds. Aren't you Hiccup, from the Hairy Hooligans?" The trader asked, noticing Hiccup.

"No, I'm not. You must got me confused with someone else." Hiccup quickly said. He knew that nobody must know his true identity. That could create a lot of problems for the village and for them.

"I am sorry but I don't forget a face. Especially when it is worth five gold nuggets." Ealdwine said, making a small sign and another six warriors quickly joined him.

"Oh. Five gold nuggets? Why didn't you say so?" Hiccup said turning around to face the merchant and his warriors. He shot a quick look at Astrid and he saw her discreetly nod. That was the sign he was looking for.

"So you wouldn't mind to join us to have a small talk, wouldn't you?" Ealdwine said again.

"I am sorry fellow, but I am not able to follow you were you are going." Hiccup said before releasing a small sigh. He hated to do this, but Berk kind of forced him to accept his new life. He then quickly grabbed his dagger and threw it at the soldier near Astrid, straight through his eye. The girl quickly grabbed the weapon and with a quick move she sliced the throat of the next soldier. Hiccup then leaped forward, knocking down one of the soldiers, he quickly got his sword and stood up slowly backing away from them. Before they could even understand what happened, two of the soldiers were killed and one was unarmed. The teens then both charged at the remaining forces, gracefully dodging their attacks and killing them.

Cuyler and the merchant were both looking shocked at the two teens. They just killed six soldiers that probably fought in a lot of battles, in less than a minute. Hiccup quickly dropped his weapon and approached Astrid.

"Are you all right?" He asked hugging her.

"Yes, are you?" She asked returning the hug.

"They are starting to get serious." Hiccup said holding his girlfriend closely near him, afraid that someone might want to take her away.

"Last time there were only two." Astrid said, still holding him.

"I couldn't bear to see you hurt." Hiccup said slowly moving away her bangs from her eyes.

"Me neither." Astrid said before kissing the boy.

Her father and the trader were both looking dumbfounded at the two persons that just bested six trained soldiers in combat. After almost half a minute, Cuyler decided they had enough time and he cough in his hand. The teens quickly noticed and awkwardly separated.

"Well fought." Astrid quickly said, slightly blushing.

"Y-You too." Hiccup quickly responded, also starting to blush.

"How in Odin's beard did you two managed to do that?" Cuyler asked, looking shocked at the teens.

"Well...It's not the first time..." Astrid awkwardly said. She still hadn't recovered from the idea that her father just saw them kiss. She was sure that Hiccup was in the same situation, but he was a lot more timid than her, so she figured that she would have to stand for them this time.

"You killed before?" He said slowly approaching his daughter.

"Well, yes. To defend myself." Astrid said, slowly recovering from the awkward situation.

"So, you killed humans before you killed dragons?" Her father asked.

"Well, so far only humans tried to kill me." Astrid quickly shot back, knowing where he was going with this conversation. Her father sighed and quickly closed by and hugged her. He was happy that she was still alive. He would worry about her relationship with Hiccup later, the small fight that broke in front of him just made him more sure that he wasn't going to abandon her daughter. He was going to protect her from future bounty hunters. He then slowly let Astrid go and approach the merchant, or the bounty hunter, or whatever he was. He slowly removed his weapon from its sheath and with a quick move decapitated the man.

"I didn't know that the word had traveled so fast. I will protect you from all the bounty hunters that are going to come. You have my word." Cuyler said approaching his daughter.

"Dad, can you come to live with us on our island? The place is huge. We can train there, we can hunt, there is plenty of space for the dragons." Astrid asked at which her father sighed.

"I will join you two. I will try to accept dragons being around all the time, for you." He said hugging her again. After that, he slowly started to walk away in the village. Hiccup slowly approached her.

"Do you know what you just did?" He asked her with a sad expresion.

"You two will get along fine. Trust me." She said trying to contain her excitement.

"That is not what I was meaning." He said slowly kissing her. Astrid was took a little by surprise by this. He usually wouldn't try to kiss her without any reasons.

"Why was that for?" She asked a little confused.

"We wouldn't be able to do that whenever we want anymore." He said slowly walking to the forge. Now this really took Astrid by surprise.

"And why not? Please don't tell me you don't like me anymore. Not after what..." Astrid began to say but was quickly interrupted by another kiss. "What in Hel's name is wrong with you?"

"I don't want to have our little moments in front of your father." Hiccup said before entering the forge.

"But he wouldn't be always there. He will have stuff to do, right?" she asked just realizing the situation.

"He said that he will never leave you and that he will protect you, so what stuff do you think he would have to do?" Hiccup asked her a little annoyed by her rash decision.

"Shit..."

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	13. Heim

****Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story and a few scenes for this chapter. **Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.******

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"I hope this dragon won't try something funny." Cuyler said as he rode with Astrid on Stormfly back to their island.

"She won't, dad. She trusts me and she won't do anything to hurt me." Astrid said.

"Dragon are wild creatures and can't be tamed. So don't expect me to let my guard down near those beasts."

'He should be grateful that I am willing to carry him.' Stormfly said, feeling insulted by Astrid's father. The girl just sighed. If she managed to convince her father that dragons weren't dangerous, then she could practically convince anyone in the Barbaric Archipelago.

Hiccup was still on Jàrnstarfa to finish the weapons he needed to make. Cuyler arrival slightly ruined his program for that day. He had to go to the healer to check his wound and he had problems hammering the iron with the pain in his chest. He said that he would come to their island in a day and bring the rest of Cuyler's stuff back to their home then.

After they finally landed on the island, Cuyler quickly dismounted the Nadder and started to look around him, expecting to be attacked by dragons. He was slightly surprised when nothing happened.

"So, they are trying to ambush me." He slowly said, drawing his bow.

"They won't attack you as long as you are with me." Astrid said slightly annoyed by his paranoia.

"Then why won't they show themselves?" He asked at which Astrid sighed.

"There is only one dragon in the vicinity now..."

"One dragon is not enough to kill me."

"She won't try to..." Astrid began to say slightly annoyed before she realized that there was no way to reason with her dad yet, so she decided to summon the dragon. "Scauldy, please come out..." Astrid called. A huge Scauldron emerged out of the water and slightly landed on the beach, still being with half of his body in the sea. Cuyler was looking amazed at the dragon as he slowly started to back away.

"Dad, this is Scauldy. She is a Scauldron and she is an elder of her species. That means that she is older and stronger than your average Scauldron. And Scauldy, this is my dad. He is a viking and a veteran in the war against dragons, but he is trying to change and he won't hurt dragons anymore." Astrid said.

'Tell him I am looking forward to our cooperation on the battlefield.' Scauldy said looking at Astrid. The girl looked slightly worried at her father and back at the Scauldron before she discreetly shook her head. 'Why won't you tell him?' the dragon asked looking confused at the girl.

'He doesn't know that she can talk to us, yet.' Stormfly said at which Astrid discreetly nodded.

'That is a wonderful ability that a few could master in such a short period time. Why didn't she tell him about this yet?' Scauldy asked Stormfly.

'I think that she is afraid that her father might think she is insane or something.' Stormfly responded at which Astrid nodded again.

"So, dad, let's go to the cave and eat something." Astrid said starting to depart from them.

"How did you manage to tame a Scauldron this big?" her father asked surprised, still not moving.

"Well, Hiccup was the one that convinced her to join us." Astrid said.

"How?"

"Scauldy was curious when she saw Hiccup flying with Toothless and she liked the idea of humans living in coexistence with dragons."

"How do you know that she liked the idea?" her father asked looking confused at her.

"She told us." Astrid said not really paying attention to their conversation.

"She told you?"

"Yes, she told...No, I mean we figured out that she liked the idea when she followed Hiccup and Toothless back here and she didn't attack us." Astrid quickly corrected herself. She tried to maintain a convincing look on her face as she waited for her father to follow her to the cave. After a few moments of silence her father asked.

"How did you figure out that she liked your idea? How do you know that she didn't just follow Hiccup for food, or for protection?"

"Look at the size of that dragon, dad. She doesn't need protection and she certainly doesn't need help hunting. Why else would she follow him if she wasn't at least a bit curious about the boy riding a Nightfury?" Astrid said.

"Do you really trust dragons?" Cuyler asked with a serious expression on his face.

"Yes, I do. I trust Stormfly with my life. She helped me more times that I can even remember. After Snotlout shot that cursed arrow at me, she helped me walk when Hiccup wasn't around, she went hunting for me and helped me cook the food, she even protected me from a wild Monstrous Nightmare."

"But do you trust other dragons except her?"

"Not all dragons are aggressive. Most of them just panic when they see a human, but if you show them that you mean no harm, most of them would try to welcome you. Most of the dragons that live on this island would do anything in their power to achieve peace with humans. Hiccup and I are just trying to help them."

"How do you know that all those dragons agree with you? What if they just see you as their master, not as their comrade?"

"Well, Stormfly and Toothless sometimes prank us, so I think that they wouldn't try to joke with their _masters._"

"But the rest of them? How do you know that they won't betray you when you show weakness?"

"Uhm... I...We practically have two elder dragons. Those dragons are usually on their own, since most of the other dragons fear them. And since we have two, I don't think that they will try to betray us because of fear of punishment. But they don't need to know that we won't punish them." Astrid said trying to create a decent explication without having to tell her father that she can talk to dragons. They finally reached the cave and started to set up the fireplace, after they finished, Stormfly quickly ignited the fire and sat next to it. Astrid and her father began to prepare some meat that her father had in his bag.

"Tell me about this place." her father said.

"Well, Hiccup found this island after he left Berk and two months after I was forced to left, I found him on this island. Its bigger than Berk and it has a lot of boars, so far, we didn't notice any other animals except boars and birds. It's pretty safe since it's not close to any trade route nearby and so far only three boats have visited the island since Hiccup first arrived here." Astrid said as she began to fry the meat.

"What happened to those boats?"

"Well, I think you heard the stories about Fáfnir, so, that's what happened to the first one. The second boat had two bounty hunters that followed a lead to this island, unfortunately for them. And the third one was a transport from Audun, so practically only two enemy boats ever arrived on this island."

"How did you two become such good fighters?"

"I trained with Hiccup after I arrived here and that's how he got so good. After my injury from Berk, I supported him to keep training, and so he did. The only problem is that I have been forced to take a break because of Snotlout, and now I am weak compared to what I was before." Astrid said getting a little sad.

"I am surprised that he managed to become a good fighter after he was just a runt."

"Stop calling him that!" Astrid quickly shot.

"But for you...You actually managed to become quite efficient. You are a lot better than when you left Berk."

"Are you kidding me... I can't even defeat Hiccup anymore! Every time we train he managed to defeat me. I am also sure that he goes easy on me just because he doesn't want to see me disappointed." Astrid said with frustration.

"Maybe he is better than you now, but you are a better fighter than when you left Berk."

"Thanks dad." Astrid said smiling a little. They then began to eat the roasted meat while exchanging stories about their adventures in the past five months.

Meanwhile, Hiccup tried to work all night to finish with the weapons as fast as he could, so that he could return home. Even after almost ten hours, the punch he received from Cuyler, still hurt when he tried to lift something heavy. Just before the sunrise, he managed to finish all his work. Everyone in the village was asleep at this time, so he decided that he would just go home and surprise Astrid. He quickly mounted Toothless and flew to his island, enjoying the sunrise. After they arrived, he slowly entered the cave and started to look for Cuyler, to give him the rest of his stuff, a few arrows and a bag that he left on his boat. He was a little surprised that he couldn't find him anywhere and that the fire was extinguished, so he decided to put the stuff he brought near the fireplace so that Cuyler would notice them. He then managed to see Astrid sleeping near the fireplace. She looked so calm when she was sleeping, not like the violent, over energetic girl she was when she was awake.

Hiccup approached and laid near her. He then slowly kissed her to make her wake up. Astrid subconsciously started to smile at this while she slowly opened her eyes. "What took you so long?" she said as she began to yawn. Hiccup allowed her to finish her yawning before he got back at tenderly kissing her. Astrid didn't hesitated and quickly joined him. In the heat of the moment, as Hiccup brought Astrid closer to him, they didn't hear the footsteps approaching them. They stopped when they heard something hitting the ground. They quickly separated and saw Cuyler with a boar at his feet.

"You are playing a dangerous game, Hiccup." he said as he approached to ignite the fire. Hiccup just made a nervous chuckle.

"I...I brought the rest of your stuff." Hiccup said as he slowly got up to get the bag. After he got the it, Cuyler approached him to inspect his things. He took the bag from Hiccup's hands and quickly looked through it, to see if something was missing, after that, he put the bag next to his other things that he brought.

"You're welcome..." Hiccup said under his breath. He then sat down next to Astrid and placed his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. They both looked as her father tried to ignite the fire, but without success, until Ild approached the fireplace and released a small fireball igniting a few pieces of wood, within almost a minute, the fire was big enough to light the cave. They noticed that Toothless was now sitting nears Stormfly, looking at them and then at Cuyler.

'Is he going to live with us now?' Toothless asked.

"Well..." Hiccup began to say, but was quickly interrupted by Astrid.

"He doesn't know that we can talk to dragons." She quickly whispered.

'Yes.' Stormfly finally answered Toothless's question.

'I wonder how would the other dragons react.'

'Scauldy likes the idea so far and I am pretty sure that no one else knows.' Stormfly said.

"This should be a fun day." Hiccup said under his breath.

"And why is that?" Astrid asked.

"We will have to explain to the other dragon that we will a have guest for some time."

"I don't care if they approve this or even if they like me or not. I will not abandon Astrid again." Cuyler said, joining the conversation.

"They won't attack you as long as you don't try to hurt them." Astrid said.

"You know that they will hunt all the food on this island." her father said.

"No, they won't. Most dragons prefer fish, so they would rather catch fish from the sea than hunt boars. And they know that they are not allowed to hunt on this island. They can stay here, but not hunt." Hiccup said.

"You really think they will obey the rules?" Cuyler asked, laughing at the idea.

"So far they had. No other dragon except Toothless and Stormfly hunted on this island. And also, there are a lot of empty islands nearby, so why wouldn't they go hunt there?" Hiccup said.

"Dragons. Cannot. Be. Tamed." Cuyler said, slowly getting annoyed at Hiccup.

"We didn't _tame_ them, we befriended them. We trust them that they wouldn't hurt us and they trust us that we wouldn't hurt them." Hiccup said. He noticed that Cuyler was visibly starting to get annoyed at him, but to his surprise, he didn't say anything after that. They stood there and ate in silence. After Astrid and Hiccup finished eating, they both walked outside with their weapons, to train, leaving Cuyler with the four dragons. He suspiciously glared at them.

'Do you think we should try and scare him?' Toothless asked, looking at the viking.

'I would strongly advise against it.' Stormly quickly said.

'And why is that?'

'Can't you smell the blood on his hands?'

'So?'

'SO? He can kill us both.' Stormfly shot back annoyed.

'I doubt that he will do that.'

'How do you know that?'

'Because he left.' Toothless said as both of them started to look around the cave for him.

The two teens were on the beach, training in the morning breeze. Hiccup was trying to hit Astrid with his swords while she was gracefully parrying and dodging his attacks, until she saw a mistake. She noticed that Hiccup was slightly out of position so she decided to violently parry his next hits to throw him out balance, and maybe to make him lose a sword. But to her surprise, Hiccup only faked an attack, but she was already trying to parry the strike that didn't come, so now she was the one that was out balanced and he quickly placed a sword to her neck.

"Do you surrender, milady?" Hiccup asked with a small grin on his face.

"You...You..." Astrid said slowly backing away and pointing an threatening finger at him.

"What are you two doing?" Cuyler asked as he approached them.

"We were training." Astrid said, still annoyed at Hiccup.

"Mind if I challenge Hiccup to an friendly duel?" The teens looked surprised at him until Hiccup finally spoke.

"Sure."

"Don't try to kill each other, please." Astrid said as she backed away a little to give them some space. She noticed that Toothless and Stormfly were also near her and they both looked curious at the match that was going to happen.

Cuyler brought his long sword and looked at Hiccup, trying to understand his way of fighting. He never fought a person with two swords before, it just looked unnatural. But the boy also tamed a Nightfury, so he wasn't that surprised anymore. He started the duel by charging at Hiccup, he tried to deliver a powerful swipe to his left arm. Hiccup smiled a little at this opportunity and with a quick move, he parried his attack and tried to hit his hand with the other sword, but he wasn't expecting to receive a kick in the chest. Hiccup fell on his back and quickly stood up, trying to catch his breath.

"You almost got me there." Cuyler said with a smirk before charging again. Hiccup quickly got into a more balanced position and parried the following blow. He then began to attack the viking. He tried to deliver a lot of quick jabs, to find a small weakness in his defense that he was going to exploit later. After the viking blocked a few of his attacks, Cuyler delivered a powerful hook with his left hand to Hiccup's face. The teen quickly collapsed down and dropped his weapons in the process. The boy was down for the count.

"Shit." Astrid quietly said, watching the scene before running to Hiccup.

"He is better than I expected." Cuyler said, noticing Astrid closing by.

"Couldn't you just disarm him or something?" Astrid asked annoyed while helping Hiccup to get up.

"He is disarmed now, isn't he?" He said at which Astrid gave him an annoyed glare. "Let him rest a little, he won't be able to do anything for at least a few minutes." He finished as he walked away. Astrid slowly let Hiccup down and held his head on her lap. After almost minute Hiccup began to recover.

"That was one strong punch."

"Why did you accept his challenge? You know that he's better than you." Astrid asked annoyed by his previous decision on dueling her father.

"I want to get to know him better, for your sake."

"You will die if you continue this way. If not by an accident on your duels, by my hand if you get yourself injured."

Cuyler was making his way through the forest, searching for a spring or some supply of fresh water. While he was exploring the forest, he heard a small crack behind him, he decided to ignore it for now, but after a few more seconds, it happened again, so he quickly drew his bow and notched an arrow at it, targeting the creature that was following him. When he turned around, he saw two Terrible Terrors standing at the end of the arrow.

"What in Hel's name are you two doing?" He asked annoyed looking at the two dragons. He got in a more relaxed position while still glaring at the two dragons, like he was expecting an answer. "Did Hiccup send you?" The dragons slowly shook their heads. "Did you actually understand me?" He asked a little surprised and was even more surprised when he noticed the dragons nodding at him. He shrugged, then turned around and started walking in a random direction, hoping to find a spring. He was a little surprised to notice that the Terrors were still following him. In his search for a supply of fresh water, he noticed a boar sitting near a tree, maybe sleeping. He slowly approached the animal with his dagger out, when he heard a crack behind him, he quickly turned around and noticed the two Terrors starting to wrestle on the ground, this made the boar notice his presence and made him run away. He looked annoyed at the two dragons and then he continued his search.

After a few minutes, he noticed that the two dragons were still following him. "Don't you have anything more important to do?" He asked annoyed, not even turning to face the Terrors. He then noticed another boar and tried to sneak on him, but the Terrors blew his cover again, making the poor animal run. "Great..." He said annoyed walking away, but the dragons were still following him. Then he stopped on his tracks and turned around made a sign for them to go away. "Shoo. Go back to Hiccup." But the dragons didn't budge, they were both looking curiously at him. "Why won't you just leave..." He began to say, but he stopped when he heard someone talk. Then he started to slowly walk toward the voice. When he got close enough, he saw Astrid with her dragon, filling some flasks with water from a spring.

"I am happy that I met him again, but I don't want him to hurt Hiccup." Astrid said, apparently to no one. Then he remember that the Terrors nodded in response when he asked them, so maybe Astrid was talking to her dragon. He wanted to approach and talk to her but he stopped when she continued to say. "But he is my father...He taught me how to be a warrior, I don't want to abandon him." _What is going on?_ He instantly thought after Astrid continued her conversation. She looked like she answered a question, but no one was there to ask it. "Are you sure?" He heard Astrid say. "Dad, can you come from behind that tree?"

"How did you know that I was here?" He said, slowly approaching her near the pond.

"Stormfly told me." Astrid responded.

"The dragon told you?" He asked surprised.

"Well... Uhm…Yes. I can talk to dragons." Astrid slowly said, waiting for his reaction. She hoped that he wouldn't take this as a joke.

"How?" he finally asked, shocked by her declaration.

"I first noticed that I could understand Stormfly three months after I bonded with her. And since then, I began to understand most dragons. And Hiccup also understands dragons." Astrid said.

'He doesn't believe you.' Stormfly said at which Astrid turned and looked at her, before looking back at her father and waiting for his response.

"What did the dragons say?" he asked.

"That you don't believe me."

"Of course I don't believe you. You can't expect me to believe that our archenemies are able to talk and think. We know that dragons act only on instinct and follow the orders of stronger dragons."

'No we don't!' Stormfly said feeling insulted by Astrid's father again.

"They act on their own accord and they only live here because they think that we can help them achieve our common goal."

"They had been raiding us for the last three hundred years. They killed hundreds of vikings and destroyed countless villages."

"You don't understand...There is a hierarchy, each nest is ruled by a huge dragon that we call Queen and they command all the smaller dragons to go and bring food if they want to live. Those Queens are very old and powerful dragons that live on a few islands in this archipelago. The dragons that are following us want to escape the Queens influence and live in peace, not having to worry about getting killed by other dragons or humans." Astrid explained.

"Then why don't they try to fight back?" her father asked.

"When I said that the Queens are huge, I really mean _huge_. They are not like any other dragon that you ever saw. A Queen is at least twenty times bigger than Scauldy, the Scauldron that you just met."

"And how do you plan to bring peace in this world with those monstrous creatures controlling so many dragons? You can't defeat them. This quest failed before it even began."

"A Dragon Rider can maneuver a dragon and increase its combat potential exponentially. If we manage to befriend enough dragons and if we manage to get enough villages to support us, then we can train an army of Dragons Riders and take out the Queens."

"And after the Queens are dead, won't the dragons return to their wild behavior?"

"We can keep them to help us at fishing, or hunting, or even building. There is a special type of metal that can only be made with the help of Gronkles. That's how Jàrnstarfa got so big out of the sudden."

Cuyler sighed as he absorbed all the new information. _Well, Hiccup really changed her..._ He thought before asking her the first thing that came into his mind. "How is Hiccup doing?"

"He is at the cave, resting. He said that he worked all night just to be able to come back this morning." Astrid answered a little surprised but also pleased by her father sudden interest in Hiccup.

They walked in silence to the cave. Cuyler tried to memorize the way to the pond so he wouldn't have to bother Astrid or Hiccup about it. When they finally arrived at the cave they saw Hiccup lying down on his sleeping bag.

"I brought the water you asked for." Astrid said, giving a flask to Hiccup while she placed the others near the wood supply.

"Thank you very much Astrid." Hiccup said quickly drinking from the flask Astrid had given him.

"How are you feeling?" Cuyler asked approaching the boy.

"Dizzy, nauseous and with a terrible headache." Hiccup said covering his eyes with his right arm, trying to block the light. Cuyler slowly laughed at this and patted him on the shoulder, before he stood up.

"You will be fine. For a few minutes I was worried you actually had something serious. I hope that next time you will do better."

"There won't be a next time." Astrid quickly shot in.

"It was just a friendly fight between men. Injuries happen from time to time." Her father said.

"He knew that you were better than him and he only accepted the challenge to prove himself to you."

"Did he now?" Cuyler said under his breath while he turned and looked at Hiccup. "Why would he want to prove himself to me?"

"For my sake! He is not a screw-up anymore. He managed to do what no other viking could do in their life. He..."

"Can you please just shut up and have your conversation elsewhere!" Hiccup yelled annoyed at them, interrupting Astrid's little speech. "You really aren't helping my headache."

"Let me help you train." Cuyler said to Astrid as he walked out of the cave.

"Are you sure you will be fine?" Astrid asked kneeling near Hiccup.

"Yup." He said still covering his eyes from the light. Then Astrid punched him in the shoulder. "Why?" He quickly said rubbing his injured shoulder now.

"That was for yelling at us. And this is a motivation to get better." Astrid said as she quickly kissed him before leaving him in the cave to rest.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	14. Bein

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

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It had been almost two weeks since Cuyler's arrival. He was living with Hiccup and Astrid on their island. He was still trying to understand that dragons weren't dangerous and that they were friendly creatures. But the fact that most dragons didn't like him didn't really help, most of the dragons were uncomfortable around him, he had a lot of dragon blood on his hands. Stormfly and Toothless tried to convince them that he was trying to change and that they should all help him, but most of them were just too afraid.

Cuyler still wasn't happy about Astrid's decision to join Hiccup, but as he couldn't convince her to leave the boy, he decided to stay with them to protect her. He had accepted the idea that they liked each other, but he wasn't sure that Hiccup was the right boy. He was a screw-up back in Berk and he wasn't sure that he could protect Astrid. He got her shot with an arrow for Thor's sake. But he tamed more than fifteen dragons, so he had to have some guts to approach them all unarmed and to trust them that they wouldn't gut him. He gave him that merit, but that wasn't enough to win his daughter.

He was sitting near a tree, with his bow prepared trying to find 'dinner'. Each one of them would hunt on turn, today it was his turn. The dragons that lived on this island would go fishing most of the time, so they wouldn't hunt the boars, since the boars are a lot easier for humans to hunt than fish, so they made an unspoken pact that the dragons would go hunting on other islands or they would go fishing, exception being the dragons that lived with them in the cave.

Then, he saw a movement in a bush. He readied his bow and waited to see if it was a boar or a dragon. He tried his best not to hurt any dragons by accident on this island, he knew that if the beasts got mad at him, he couldn't fight all of them back and Astrid and Hiccup wouldn't be able to calm them down. But he had to admit, Hiccup managed to bring together and control a pretty diversified group of dragons.

He was slightly distracted, lost in his thoughts about whole dragon situation, but when something moved again in the bushes, he regained his concentration and when the boar finally got into the clearing, he released his arrow and killed the unsuspecting animal. He then grabbed the boar on his back and went back to the cave.

When he reached the cave, he noticed Astrid leaning her head on Hiccup's shoulder and softly talking to him. "I brought dinner." he said approaching the couple and throwing the dead boar on the ground near the fire.

"Dad, we were just talking about you." Astrid said with a small smile. Cuyler and Hiccup didn't really talk that much, they tried to get on some common ground for Astrid's sake, they even had their small _duels _sometimes, but they were still pretty distant, so, Astrid was most of the times the _messenger_ between the two of them.

"Nothing bad, I hope." Cuyler said with a small laugh. He then started to skin the boar and prepare the meat to be cooked.

"We were thinking that you should learn how to ride a dragon." Astrid said, hoping that her father would like the idea.

"Not going to happen. You will not see me on one of those flying reptiles." he said with a serious tone, but not aggressive, showing that he didn't really like the idea. He was happy that his daughter cared about him after he was forced to banish her, but he wasn't going to betray the viking way. He had done too much to go back now, it was just too late for him. Maybe if he was younger and didn't have so much dragon blood on his hands, he would have considered it, but not now, he was famous in the entire archipelago as one of the most efficient dragon slayers, he couldn't just throw away all the work he had done trying to make a name for himself for a silly pet.

'I don't even know if a dragon would want to fly with him.' Stormfly said talking to Toothless. There were only five dragons that knew that he wasn't a threat anymore, one of them lived in the sea and couldn't be ridden, two of them already had riders and the other two were too small to have a rider.

'Well, he is a good marksman, so he could fly a slow and steady dragon to shoot arrows from.' Toothless began to think of a dragon that could be good for Cuyler.

'I think even a faster dragon could do. Hiccup can use the bow from your back and you fly very fast and he is a better marksman that Hiccup.' Stormfly said.

"Even Stormfly and Toothless are trying to help you." Astrid pointed out after she noticed the dragons conversation. Her father got used with the idea of her and Hiccup talking to dragons, but sometimes he couldn't really believe what the dragons were saying. Why would Toothless and Stormfly want to help him? He was a dragon slayer. He didn't kill another dragons since he finally found Astrid again, but he killed hundreds of their species before. He knew the enormous military and mercantile advantages the dragons could provide. Even the simple idea of flying over some small islands would reduce the traveling speed by hours. Even days in long trips. You could easily use a dragon like Stormfly to gain an advantage over the enemy in combat, you could easily take down a ship with a Scauldron or a Hideous Zippleback, and you could easily transport a lot of building materials and heavy stuff with a Gronckle. The dragons were very useful in a lot of situations and he knew that. But his viking stubbornness and his reputation didn't allow him to befriend them. He wasn't even sure that he would disliked to have a dragon, but all the dragons on this island and on Jàrnstarfa knew him and his reputation. Even if he might want to befriend a dragon, a dragon might not want to befriend him.

"We can even try to find you a dragon." Hiccup finally spoke.

"I don't want a dragon." The man responded a little annoyed at their sudden attempts to force him to get a dragon.

"But dad, imagine all the potential you would get by having one." Astrid said getting up and approaching her father. "If you would befriend a dragon, a man by your stature and with your reputation, you could go to any small village and convince them to join us. It would help a lot." Not to mention that it would help them bond together.

"I know Astrid, but even you said that the dragons could _smell _all the blood on my hands. After I lived with them for two weeks I know that they are not the bloodthirsty beasts we initially thought, but I am not willing to go that far to trust a dragon with my life since I know that most of them don't trust me." He tried to prove his point. He knew that Stormfly and Toothless trusted him and weren't afraid of him, even Ild and Blad trusted him, but the rest of the dragons on the island still looked at him with suspicious looks. He did nothing to hurt them, but his past couldn't be ignored.

'Now that he mentioned it...' Toothless said.

"But if a dragon trusted you, would you be willing to be his rider?" Hiccup asked getting up and approaching the man.

"If a dragon would trust me, then I might consider it." Cuyler said trying to point that out. After all the time he spent with them he saw Hiccup make _the offspring of lighting and dead itself _purr like a cat and the Deadly Nadder staring at her reflection for hours, admiring herself. The dragons looked just like some big, flying and _unique_ domestic animals.

"Good, then let's find you a dragon." Hiccup said slowly walking to exit the cave. Astrid was looking excited at her father, he will finally understand how friendly and awesome dragons are.

"Let's go!" She said quickly following Hiccup. Cuyler slowly got up and looked at Toothless and Stormfly.

"You really think that there is a dragon that will feel connected to me somehow and wouldn't be afraid of me?" He asked the two dragons. He was a little happy when he notice the two of them nod. He still couldn't believe that the dragons managed to learn Norse and to understand them. Hiccup said that he got to understand Toothless after more than six months of being with him and Astrid started to understand dragons after four months of being with Toothless and Stormfly, and other dragons. They both explained him that they could befriend other dragons, but they only felt bonded to the ones they rode. They only had a bond with Toothless and Stormfly.

Cuyler then followed the two dragons outside after Astrid and Hiccup. He noticed the two teens looking in the forest, slowly talking with each other. He walked near them so that they would notice him.

"So, what dragons live on this island?" Hiccup asked looking at Toothless.

The Nightfury was a little surprised by this question since he had no idea and quickly looked at Stormfly to answer it. The Nadder looked at him with an annoyed expression and said.

'Here we have six Gronckles, four Nadders, two Changewings , two Monstrous Nightmares, two Zipplebacks, one Timberjack and Scauldy. And almost ten Terrors, but I think they aren't that important in the matter at hand.' Stormfly said.

'Exactly what I was thinking.' Toothless quickly finished.

"So... The Zipplebacks and Scauldy are out without question." Astrid said. "So, dad, how do you like Gronckles and Nadders?"

"I don't think a Gronckle would be good for him..." Hiccup said thinking about the possibilities.

"Why?" Astrid asked.

"Because I think he would like to use his bow from a dragon and a Gronckle just isn't agile enough for him." Hiccup said. Cuyler was sitting behind them listening to their conversation, he quietly nodded at Hiccup's reasoning. He agreed with him on this situation. A Gronckle would be too slow and _heavy_ for his liking.

"What about a Nadder then?" Astrid asked.

"Hmm... I don't know..." Hiccup began. "It just doesn't seem right..."

"How does it not seem right?" Astrid sighed. Hiccup turned and looked at her father.

"Would you like a Deadly Nadder?" Hiccup asked her father.

"Well, Nadders are very loyal and powerful dragons. Their fire is one of the strongest known to us and their poison is deadly." As Cuyler said, Stormfly slowly got in a proud position trying to show her greatness. "But they are very lazy and way too proud." as he said that Stormfly quickly dropped her proud stature and looked revolted at his declaration.

'That is not true! We are not lazy and certainly we are not too proud.' the Nadder said offended. Toothless laughed at her reaction and that only made Stormfly more annoyed, she shot a few spikes at the Nightfury, which he graceful dodged.

"I wouldn't recommend the Timberjack or the Changewings. So maybe you can befriend a Monstrous Nightmare?" Hiccup said more like a question.

"But wouldn't I get burn by their ability to light themselves on fire?" Cuyler asked.

"Well...Yes..." Astrid said trying to think of another dragon on that they knew.

"We can explore the nearby islands and try to find other species of dragons." Hiccup suggested.

'We can go to Bein.' Toothless suggested.

"Why would we want to go to Bein? You know that he let us live because we promised not to bother him anymore?" Hiccup asked with a sarcastic tone looking at Toothless.

"Who is Bein?" Astrid asked, looking a little surprised at him.

"Didn't I tell you?" Hiccup responded a little surprised.

"I don't think so." Astrid said with a slightly annoyed look.

"Didn't I tell you about a Boneknapper that almost killed me and Toothless?" Hiccup asked again, still looking surprised.

"Wait! That almost killed YOU and Toothless?" Astrid asked the boy, shocked. "YOU never told me that a BONEKNAPPER ALMOST KILLED YOU!" She yelled at him.

"Sorry..." Hiccup quickly responded, taking a few steps back. He looked at Toothless for help in this conversation.

"When did this happen?" She asked.

'When you were injured,' Toothless said trying to help his friend.

"DON'T YOU INTERVENE IN THIS!" Astrid shot back at which Toothless backed away a few steps.

'You can't say that I didn't try,' the Nightfury said before joining Stormfly and Cuyler that were watching the scene from a safe distance.

"Astrid, I am sure we can talk this out without maiming or killing me...Please?" Hiccup said backing away until he reached a tree. He knew that an angry Astrid was a dangerous Astrid.

"Now, tell me when this happened!" She said while pinning him to the tree and stabbing him in the chest with her finger.

"I was flying with Toothless when we saw a Boneknapper being attacked by some vikings and he was losing. So we intervened and he got annoyed at us and wanted to kill us. Please don't hurt me..." Hiccup said slowly raising his hands to ask for mercy.

"And how did you manage to make him _not _to kill you?" She said relaxing a little. It was hard to try and hurt a Hiccup that looked so scared, it looked almost adorable.

"We ran." Hiccup quickly responded.

"And how did you promise not to bother him if you ran away?" Astrid asked trying to make sense in his story. She was now slowly backing away from him.

"Well...He didn't really respond back, so we took the lack of response as a 'yes'." Hiccup said recovering his position. After he was standing near her she quickly turned around and hit him in his shoulder.

"That is for not telling me that you almost died!" Astrid said before turning around and mounting Stormfly.

"You should be happy, she always hit Snotlout a lot harder." Her father said.

"Snotlout is an asshole. And on the other hand, I like Hiccup." She said extending her hand to help her father mount Stormfly.

"I don't want to know what you would have done if you didn't like me." Hiccup said, rubbing his arm while getting on his Nightfury.

"So, lead us to Bein!" Astrid said looking at Hiccup.

"He lives on an island not so far from here." The teen said while directing Toothless to that island. Stormfly quickly followed them with Astrid and Cuyler. They reached that island in less than ten minutes. The island was mostly rocky and without much vegetation and trees. The first thing they noticed after they landed was a huge amount of bones scattered around the place.

"I don't remember so many bones being here..." Hiccup said, getting slightly worried by their surroundings.

'There certainly weren't so many skeletons when we were here last time.' Toothless said looking around.

"Don't tell me that you are afraid." Astrid said, noticing their expressions.

"You never saw a Boneknapper, did you?" Her father asked her.

"No. But I bet they aren't that dangerous." She said looking around. They all turned and looked at her after her response. "What?" she asked being surprised by their reaction.

"They are bigger than a Monstrous Nightmare." Her father stated.

"They are fully covered in bones." Hiccup continued.

"And they have a powerful flame breath." Cuyler then finished.

"So...They are slightly dangerous." Astrid said, not wanting to be proven wrong.

"Astrid, those dragons could..." Cuyler began to say before he was rudely interrupted by the Boneknapper. They all looked at the monstrous dragon. "It's a lot bigger than I remembered." He finally said.

"Please don't hurt us. We come to bring you an offer." Hiccup said, trying to look friendly in the eyes of the huge dragon. But the dragon just glared at them. He didn't make a sound. He didn't even tried to communicate his intentions.

"Toothless, can you please talk to him?" Astrid said, trying to improve the situation.

'We are here just to bring you an offer. If you don't want to accept it, we will just leave.' Toothless said slowly approaching the mighty beast, but the dragon didn't respond. He was just looking at them, measuring each one of them. Until he laid eyes on Cuyler. He noticed the bone bow he had on his back. The bone bow that would fit perfectly for his armor.

So the Boneknapper quickly charged at them. They were all taken by surprise by this. They all dodged his attack before he charged again at Astrid's father. He started to run from the dragon, trying to hide in the bones that were everywhere on the field.

"What does it want?" He yelled back at the teens, hoping to figure this out.

"What does a Boneknapper want?" Astrid said looking desperately at Hiccup. Her father was in danger and she couldn't really do anything to help him. The dragon would have killed them all, it was just to huge and powerful for them.

"YOUR BOW!" Hiccup yelled at Cuyler, running towards him.

"What with it?" He asked confused.

"Give it to him." The teen responded approaching the enraged dragon.

"Why would I do that?" the other man answered.

"That is why he is attacking YOU. He wants to finish his armor and your bone bow is perfect for it." Hiccup said, now being near Toothless and at a relatively safe distance from the enraged dragon. Cuyler quickly unequipped his bow and threw it at the dragon. The dragon instantly moved his attention from the viking, to the weapon that was now lying on the ground. He quickly grabbed the bow with his fangs and he was trying to place it on his chest armor where it was slightly cracked. It was rather funny, looking at a huge dangerous dragon, trying so hard to equip the bone bow and failing.

"What is he doing?" Cuyler asked, approaching Hiccup and his dragon.

"He is trying to equip your bow, but he is doing a terrible job." The teen pointed out.

"What do we do now?" The man asked confused.

"You can go and help him. I am pretty sure he will appreciate it." Hiccup said. Cuyler looked at him with a questioning look. "Just make sure you talk to him and make sure that he knows that you don't want to hurt him."

The viking started to approach the Boneknapper. "I am not going to hurt you." He said as he got the dragons attention. "Let me help you with that." He picked the bow from the ground and stood near the dragon. He slowly raised the bone weapon and placed it in the crack in the dragon's armor. It was a perfect match. The Boneknapper released a happy roar and playfully nudged the viking. "What is he doing?" Cuyler asked confused by the dragon.

"He is thanking you." Astrid said, staying near Hiccup. It was a wonderful view. To see a stubborn old viking to make a friend with a deadly dragon. To finally understand that dragons weren't a threat anymore. She felt her heart fill with joy and pride for her father.

'Can you tell the viking that I thank him for willingly giving his weapon to me?' The Boneknapper said.

"He is thanking you for giving him your weapon." Hiccup said.

"Tell him I am grateful to him for not killing me." The viking said, starting to pet his new dragon.

"What are you going to name him?" Astrid asked.

"He already has a name. It's Bein." Hiccup pointed out. "The vikings he was fighting called him like that, I found out later that he is one of the strongest Boneknappers that exists. None of his species should grow this big. So, I think he is an Elder Dragon, like Scauldy."

"So you like Bein?" Cuyler asked his dragon. Not being sure what he was supposed to do with his new friend.

'Can you tell me not to treat me like that? I am an elder of my species and I don't appreciate being treated without the respect I deserve.' The dragon said, getting slightly annoyed by the way the viking was talking to him. They were both _elders_ of their species. They both had a lot of blood on their names. They both fought in many wars, so they both deserved respect. It was a rather unexpected friendship if you think about it. They both killed hundreds of the other ones species and now they are both agreeing to cooperate to bring peace.

"But I though you dragons liked to be treated like that." Astrid said looking confused at the dragon.

'I am not one of those younglings that follows you. I had survived through centuries of conflict.' Bein said.

'Well, he is older than three hundred years.' Stormfly said, being slightly insulted by him, but not daring to respond back.

"So, this dragon is an elder and he wants to be treated with respect. Not like we treat Toothless and Stormly." Hiccup said looking at the two of them.

"Good. I had no idea how to treat him like you treat your dragons." Cuyler said slightly petting his dragon on the head.

"So, can we go home now and eat something?" Astrid finally said mounting Stormfly.

"Wait, that means that I am going to fly with Bein?" Cuyler asked as both him and Bein looked surprised at Astrid.

"Yes, why not?" Astrid asked back.

"I never flew with a dragon before."

"The Boneknapper has a long neck, so you will sit on his neck and grab a hold on his horns. If a dragon has a short neck, like a Gronckle or a Deadly Nadder, you will sit on its back. And always remember to talk to your dragon about where to go or do you want him to do and you must never try to force some maneuvers on him, because he has a lot more experience in flying than you, so you must trust him. Well, that's about it." Hiccup said as he mounted Toothless.

"See you home." Astrid said as she and Hiccup began to fly back to their island.

Bein and Cuyler gave each other a confused glance before Cuyler began. "I should've expected something like that...Do you mind helping me get home?"

'If that means that I can have my revenge on Waelise and on the Nadder, then yes.' Bein said lowering his neck so that Cuyler can mount him. They flew at a slow pace and mostly in silence, Cuyler would give directions from time to time. After almost half an hour they reached the island.

Astrid and Hiccup where waiting for them in front of the cave, with their dragons closely behind them. "So, how was your first flight with a dragon all on your own?" Astrid asked a little amused.

"You didn't have to abandon me on the island." Cuyler answered a little annoyed.

"You are still in one piece, so I think it went pretty well." Astrid said with a small smile.

"We didn't try to kill each other, if that's what you are talking about."

"No, no you didn't, but you managed to surpass your differences and help each other get here. You two, both veterans and warriors, managed to cooperate and travel here as a team. I am proud of you dad." Astrid said, slowly approaching him and grabbing him in a strong hug. Cuyler couldn't do anything but smile at his daughter.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far. And a quick announcement, I won't be able to update the story next week since I will be away from home, so expect the next chapter to be uploaded the next Monday.**


	15. Help

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions. And I will also like to apologize for the late update, I will try to keep more to the shedule in the future, thanks for your patience.**

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The village of Jàrnstarfa slowly grew to almost three hundred vikings. They all knew about the dragons and they all tried to hide them from the visitors and from the traders. They even built a few stables to hide them. There was a total of twenty dragons protecting Jàrnstarfa now. Ten Gronckles that also provided the strong metal that made the village famous, two Changewings that were used sometimes to explore the island discreetly, to be sure that there weren't any unwanted visitors, five Deadly Nadders that would be used mostly for range combat, with their ability to throw spikes, two Hideous Zipplebacks that had the potential of blowing up an entire fleet with their gas and a Monstrous Nightmare. The leader of this defensive force was Skuller, with his brother Nubs. Hiccup noticed that usually the Monstrous Nightmare was one of the most intelligent dragons, but there were exceptions, like Skuller and Stormfly, not to mention the Elder Dragons.

Back on their island there were even more dragons. There were ten Deadly Nadders, four Gronkles, four Hideous Zipplebacks, seven Changewings, two Timberjacks, one Typhoomerang, the one that they met on Berk when Astrid was shot, they named him Torch and there were almost thirty Terrible Terrors. And let's not forget about Scauldy, Bein and Toothless. Bein and Cuyler had reached a common agreement over the bone bow, Bein would carry it most of the time to be allowed to speak with the others, but would give the weapon back to Cuyler before combat. To Astrid's and Hiccup's surprise, Cuyler and his dragon actually were quite close, he still couldn't understand him, but so far they never had any conflicts or any problems, so, for a viking that killed over one hundred dragons, to be a good friend with a dragon that killed hundreds of vikings, was an achievement in their book.

Since Cuyler was the most experienced fighter of all of them, he was the one that would usually train them. He also got a special interest in Hiccup's combat ability, making the two of them to get on some common ground. They still had their duels from time to time, at which Hiccup would lose, but he was getting better, or that's what Cuyler said anyway. But he was mostly surprised by Hiccup's skill with ranged weapons, he was able to keep a deadly accuracy while riding with Toothless at high speeds.

He was still slightly disappointed by the fact that Astrid and Hiccup were a couple, he still had some of his _old_ viking mentality and wanted her daughter to marry a chief or a rich trader, not to live on an isolated island with _dragons_, but, she seemed happy with Hiccup so he didn't make a big deal out of it. If Astrid is happy, he is happy.

The teens were content with him being here. He helped them in most important matters with the village and with the traders and somehow he managed to make them grow even closer to each other. Now, they used to spend even more time together than before and they were never further than ten feet away from each other. Lately, they used to sneak away at night with their dragons to fly and spend some time alone, since Astrid's father was with them most of the times, they missed their make-out sessions. But Cuyler quickly noticed their absence and was pretty angry at them until he started to get a better understanding of their relation with their dragons. Toothless and Stormfly were very protective and they would do anything to protect their riders, the dragons were also quite smart, so they wouldn't allow them to do something stupid. After a few discussions with their dragons, he allowed them to spend as much time together as they wanted. He even managed to build some respect towards Hiccup, to some extent. Of course he was older and wiser than him, but the boy knew how to be a chief. He was a born leader and good strategist. A lot of times he was surprised by his caring and soft heart that also managed to be strong and intimidating when needed. In the end, Hiccup was an excellent leader and a very strong person, he also has a different way of seeing things and after so many years of war, a different approach was all they needed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One night, after they snuck out again they went on a small island nearby, where they used to go on the more warmer nights when the sky was clean to watch the stars. This island was ideal because it wasn't inhabited by any dangerous animals or vikings and it had a small grassy hill. On that hill they usually sat for hours telling stories and legends about different gods and mythical creatures or just talking random nonsense while admiring the night's sky.

"Hey Astrid." Hiccup said after a few minutes of silence.

"Hm?" She responded, more like a question.

"You think that Toothless's scale could be melted?" He asked at which Toothless quickly stood up and looked confused at him.

'What?' The Nightfury quickly joined the conversation.

"I was thinking of making some armor from the scales you shed. They are pretty resistant and light, so, why not?"

"Well, you are the blacksmith and I know that you wouldn't ask about my opinion on this if you wouldn't have a problem. So, what is it?" Astrid asked.

"They don't melt..."

'I am a dragon, of course my scales don't melt.' Toothless said lying back in the tall grass.

"Maybe you can get a Deadly Nadder to try and melt them. The Nadder's flame is the most powerful we know so far." Hiccup quickly stood up and with an excited voice asked.

"Do you mind if I borrow Stormfly?"

"No, go ahead." Astrid said slightly amused watching Hiccup run and mounting Stormfly. In a few seconds they were almost out of sight. She knew this was going to be another of those nights when he would work all night, forgetting about anything else and not resting at all. And she knew that she would have the possibility to tease him in the morning. At least it wouldn't be just another uneventful day in Jàrnstarfa.

'How does he have my scales?' Toothless asked after a few seconds, confused.

"You leave them everywhere, so after a while, he started to collect them. And I think that now he has enough to try and make an armor." Astrid responded, lying back on the grass.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hiccup quickly rode to Jàrnstarfa with Stormfly, it was already almost midnight so he decided to not announce his arrival. They went to his main forge, where he kept Toothless's scales, then he quickly gathered a decent amount of scales and put them in the forge. He ignited the fire and waited for the forge to get at a decent temperature. Then he tried to smelt the materials with traditional methods, but when he failed, he brought Stormfly closer to help him. The Nadder made a small and steady flame on the scales, in a few seconds the scales started to melt, creating a small red mass of scales. After the mass looked malleable, he slowly petted Stormfly and grabbed the scales with a set of tongs and started to hammer the mass, trying to give the form of a helmet, but after almost ten minutes, the scales started to cool down, making them less malleable, so he needed Stormfly's help again. After almost four hours of continuous hammering and reheating he finally had a decent looking helmet, but it still needed some finishing details. After the scales cooled down a little, he tried the helmet. It was fitting perfectly. It covered all of his head and a little of his neck. Then he had the idea of making another part for the helmet that will cover his face, so that he will be protected from fire and direct attacks. It would also help when talking to traders and visiting other villages, so he wouldn't be recognized, helping him to keep his true identity a mystery.

After another three hours, he had a helmet that also included a mask. He connected the mask with the helmet by a small joint at the forehead. Then he tied the two pieces together with a small leather strip on each side of his face, so that the mask wouldn't be moving chaotically when he flew with Toothless or when he was fighting with somebody. He looked proudly at his design. After he wore the helmet for a few minutes, he noticed that the scale helmet was rather cold and he could only imagine the torture he will have to endure on long flights with Toothless, now that winter was getting closer. So he decided to line the helmet with some fur to make it a little warmer. After almost a hour, he finished his helmet. He turned it around to search for small defects, but to his joy, he didn't find any. He placed the helmet on the workbench and slowly leaned on the floor. The forge was still a little hot, so the floor was pretty warm, he even brought a small fur cloak from the back room and used it as a blanket, so now he was warm and comfy. The perfect time for a nap.

But after not so long, Hiccup was brutally woken up by a bucket of cold water being thrown at him. "That's for not coming back." Astrid said with a smirk.

"What-Why...Do you really have to do that?" Hiccup asked annoyed. "Every time I try to wake you up I try to be gentle and tender and not aggressive like this." He said gesticulating.

"Well, that's not my problem now, is it?" Astrid said, laughing at him while she went to the workbench to inspect the 'thing' that stopped him from getting back home. "This is what you've been working at?" She said examining the helmet.

"How long have I been asleep?" Hiccup asked looking at Stormfly.

'Thirty minutes.' Stormfly sleepily said as Hiccup just sighed. The dragon was sleeping curled near the forge, to absorb the remaining heat before the forge cooled down.

"You made this from Toothless's scales?" Astrid asked, carefully turning the helmet to explore every little detail.

"I worked all night to make it." HIccup stated proudly, approaching her.

"It really looks amazing, but it's too light to resist a frontal attack."

"I didn't really test its resistance yet. But at how hard it was to hammer those scales, I am sure it will hold."

"Want to make a bet?"

"Sure."

"I will hit this helmet as hard as I can with my axe and if it breaks, you will have to go hunting instead of me for a whole month."

"And if it doesn't?"

"I will go hunting instead of you for a month."

"Deal." Hiccup said quickly placing the helmet on the working bench. Without any hesitation, Astrid delivered a powerful blow at the helmet with her axe. The piece of armor flew of the table into a nearby wall. They quickly went to the helmet and Hiccup picked it up, inspecting it. To their surprise, the helmet was intact, except a small scratch on the side. "I won." Hiccup quickly said at which Astrid punched his shoulder.

"You didn't really think that I was serious about our bet." She said with a small smile.

"I figured that much, but it's nice to win in front of Astrid Hofferson." Hiccup stated proudly.

"Shut up!" Was the only answer Astrid gave as she punched him again and left the forge with Stormfly. As Hiccup quickly followed her outside, he was blinded by sudden outburst of sunlight, but after a few seconds his eyes adjusted and he noticed Astrid a little further waiting for him.

"What do you plan to do the rest of the day, milady?" Hiccup asked approaching her.

"What do you want to do?" She asked back.

"To sleep."

"Are you really that tired?"

"I hammered Toothless's scales all night in an infernal heat, so yes, I am really that tired."

"You certainly are grumpy..." Astrid said under her breath.

"I heard that!"

"So you really want to go to the inn and sleep all day?"

"That's the plan." Hiccup responded at which Astrid made a loud sigh. They quickly got at the inn and received a room. The innkeeper already knew them and every time they would visit he would give them the same room. It was like their second home, Hiccup even had a few drawings on the walls and a few schemes. As they entered the room, Hiccup quickly took his shoes off and got in bed.

"Now what am I going to do all day?" Astrid asked a little annoyed looking at him. Hiccup didn't said anything but raised the blanket and made a sign for her to come sit near him. "You want me to sleep all day?"

"If you don't have anything better to do." He responded at which Astrid sighed, but then she complied. They lay there in silence for a few minutes until Astrid said.

"I can't sleep."

"Sure you can." Hiccup responded sleepily, not even opening his eyes.

"No, I can't."

"Close your eyes."

"Hiccup, I don't want to sleep."

"Just close your eyes." Hiccup said again and Astrid complied this time. He took the lack of response from Astrid as a sign that she is now listening to him.

"Now imagine you are by a river and you are watching it flow. You are watching the blue water flow downhill to a..."

"A forest." Astrid said after a few seconds of pause.

"Exactly. A forest. And in the forest is green and filled with all kinds of trees and plants and there also are a lot of wild animals and..."

"And dragons." Astrid said again after the small pause, a little annoyed this time.

"Yes, dragons. And they were in are in a lot of different shapes and colors and..."

"And you really don't want to talk, do you?" Astrid asked, getting slightly annoyed and amused by his fatigue.

"I just want to sleep, please Astrid." The girl sighed again and turned around until she was facing Hiccup. Since she wasn't tired, she just looked at him, exploring the small details of his face since she had nothing better to do. He looked so calm and relaxed, until he suddenly opened his eyes, making Astrid flinch. "Could you please be so kind to stop staring at me while I try to sleep?" Hiccup asked a little annoyed.

"Well I'm not tired, what am I supposed to do?"

"Let me sleep?" Hiccup began to say. "I would really appreciate it."

"But then whose ass am I supposed to kick today at training?" Astrid asked trying to challenge him.

"I will make up to you. Later, or tomorrow."

"But Hiccup..."

"I promise."

"Fine!" Astrid said annoyed as she got up from bed and quickly exited the room, leaving Hiccup to rest.

The girl spent the next few hours walking though the village, talking to different traders and visitors, she even punched a visitor that tried to flirt with her, later she tested a few weapons 'freshly' forged, but in all that time she felt somehow bored. In most of those situations Hiccup could have made a few sarcastic comments or his attitude could have made things different. She finally decided to go back to the inn to wake him up. She filled a bucked with water and entered the room, slowly approaching him. At the sound of the door closing, Hiccup subconsciously turned around to the noise, but he was still sleeping, the only difference it made is that Astrid can now see his face, he looked calm, comfy, and tired. Really tired. After almost three hours of sleep, he still looked like he worked three days in a row without taking a break or having any rest. Astrid looked at the bucket of water that she was prepared to throw at him and then she looked back at him. She couldn't wake him up like this, not now, he worked all night to make that helmet of his while she slept, he had every reason to be tired. She slowly put the bucket down, near the bed and slowly pushed him so that she could lie next to him.

"Now you want to sleep?" Hiccup slowly asked, a little drowsy, after he made some room for her.

"You have a problem with that?"

"Not at all, milady." Hiccup responded with a small smile embracing her. He quickly fell back asleep followed by Astrid soon after.

They were still sleeping a few hours later when Cuyler entered the room. "I thought I might find you here." He said noticing the teens sleeping, but after he saw no reaction from them, he slowly approached the bed and grabbed the bucket with water that was near it and with a quick move, he threw the water on them, waking them up.

"What in Hel's name is your...Dad." Astrid began to swear but she quickly stopped when she saw her father with the bucket in hand.

"I figured you two would be here." Cuyler said.

"You really had to throw a bucket of water at us?" Hiccup asked annoyed.

"Since it was near the bed, I thought, why not?"

"What was a bucket of water doing near the bed, Astrid?" Hiccup asked, now looking annoyed at her.

"Don't blame me, I didn't throw the water." She quickly responded.

"But you brought the bucket!"

"That's not the point!"

"Would you two stop arguing? Hiccup, there is somebody looking for you." Cuyler interrupted them.

"For me? Who?" Hiccup asked surprised.

"A girl."

"Why?"

"Exactly, why is a girl looking for him?" Astrid said looking menacing at Hiccup.

"She said she wants to talk to Fáfnir." Cuyler said leaving the room.

"How does she know that Fáfnir is here?" Hiccup asked under his breath.

"Do you mind telling me who is this girl?" Astrid asked annoyed.

"To be honest, I have no idea."

"You better have no idea who she is." Astrid said getting up and waiting for Hiccup near the door. They quickly left the inn and followed Cuyler to the market. With the helmet under his arm, Hiccup thought it would be a good idea to start hiding his face from unknown persons or visitors, so he quickly equipped the helmet. Astrid looked a little surprised at him but decided not to question his motives, not yet at least. After they reached the market, a young girl, about their age approached them. She had green eyes, black hair and a figure somewhat like Astrid, but she was a little shorter and slimmer. The clothes she wore had a few patches on them, so she was from a poor family or village and she also had a small bag on her back.

"You must be Fáfnir." She said after a few moments hesitation.

"Depends who's asking." Hiccup responded, being careful about the whole situation. This could be very well another bounty hunter here to kill him.

"My name is Heather." She quickly said looking slightly panicked at them.

"And with what can I help you?" Hiccup asked after another small pause.

"Well, my village has heard stories about a dragon tamer and how he can control dragons..."

"I don't control them, they act on their own." Hiccup interrupted her.

"But then how did you make a dragon eat a man?"

"I killed that man, the dragons had nothing to do with it. And the dragon broke the other guy's arm to protect me."

"How did you have a dragon to protect you?"

"First you have to win their..."

"Wait a few seconds, why do you care how he made that dragon protect him?" Astrid quickly interrupted them.

"Our small village is constantly raided by dragons and we need to do something to stop them. We can't fight them off since we are poor and can't afford to buy or manufacture good weapons, and we can't extend on the other side of the island since the forest are filled with wild animals and other dragons." Heather responded with a sad voice, looking on the ground.

"And how could we help you with that?" Hiccup asked.

"Can I be your apprentice?" Heather quickly asked dropping on her knees. "Please! I need to learn how to stop the dragons, to help my village."

"Wait, what?" Hiccup asked shocked, taking a few steps backs in surprise. Astrid and her father were also looking with the same surprised expression at her.

"If I can communicate with dragons maybe they will leave my village alone. Please!"

"I...Don't...Stand up for Thor's sake." Hiccup said helping Heather to stand up and looking around to make sure they didn't attract to many unwanted eyes.

"So will you make me your apprentice?" Heather asked with excitement looking at him.

"I...How bad is the dragon problem in your village?"

"They are raiding almost every week. But we are poor and we almost have food for ourselves."

"Well...Wait here." Hiccup said before he turned around to talk with Astrid. "What do we do?"

"Well, you are the leader." Astrid gave an indifferent answer.

"I don't...Why are you mad again?" Hiccup said.

"Don't you find the situation a little fishy? Nobody ever wanted to deal with Fáfnir and now there is someone that wants his help. I don't trust her."

"It seems fishy, but what if there is someone who finally understood that dragons can be friends and not foes? We can't just ignore an opportunity like this."

"Well, it's your call."

"I...Wh-What do you mean 'it's my call'? We are a team. We have been a team for almost half a year. I don't want to make decisions like this on my own..."

"Listen, I have faith that you will make the right decision. And remember, I will always be by your side, whatever the outcome." Astrid said grabbing his shoulders so that he would look at her.

"Thanks Astrid." Hiccup responded with a small smile, she only noticed his smile from his eyes. In their time together, she noticed that Hiccup had the ability to make good decisions, but his insecurity always had been a problem, a lot less lately, but he was still not confident enough to make the big calls, even if he knew the right way, he just needed a little 'push', so that's what she did. After a few seconds of thinking, Hiccup slowly turned around and faced Heather. "We will visit your village tomorrow to see the dragon problem for ourselves, then we will decide if we can help you and how. Meet us tomorrow morning here."

"Thank you! Thank you very much!" Heather said with a big smile on her face, trying to contain her excitement. The others slowly turned and walked away, leaving her alone in the market.

"Are you sure about this?" Astrid asked.

"Not really. But if we manage to fix their dragon problem then we might win another village for our cause. If there is indeed a dragon problem." Hiccup responded.

"What are we going to do if there isn't a dragon problem?"

"We will go with Toothless and Stormfly to the village while Cuyler stays hidden with Bein and to help us in case something happens. How does that sound?"

"I'm fine with this plan." Cuyler answered.

"But what if that won't be enough?"

"Then we will also bring Skuller and Nubs with us."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The following day Astrid and Hiccup came into the market with their dragons at an early hour. They were hoping to buy some fruits before most villagers would wake up so that they could have a wider variety to choose from. When they finally entered the market, they saw Heather sleeping near a small empty stall, they both looked surprised at her until Hiccup finally spoke.

"Heather?" Hiccup asked approaching her.

"What?" She asked in return, with a sleepy voice.

"You slept here?" Astrid asked, joining the conversation.

"Fáfnir!" Heather said a little too loud before quickly covering her mouth with both hands and looking a little scared and apologetically at them.

"You slept here?" Hiccup asked again, getting her attention.

"Uhm...Yes..." She answered with hesitation.

"Why?" Astrid asked.

"I don't have how to pay for a room at the inn..."

"And why didn't you say something before?"

"I didn't want to ask for too much because I was afraid that you will think I am looking for pity..."

"But you want us to help you with your dragon problem?" Astrid asked.

"I am doing that for my village. I won't ask for help for things I can take care on my own."

"You slept outside on a freezing night!" Hiccup yelled at her.

"Thats...Just...Can we just go to my village, please?" Heather asked getting up and looking sad at them.

"Do you have any weapons?" Astrid asked.

"I have a knife..." Heather answered pulling out a small, rusted blade.

"When was the last time you ate?" Hiccup asked a little annoyed.

"That is not important, I can still be..."

"When?" Hiccup asked again, with a serious tone.

"Two days ago..." Heather answered, looking sad on the ground.

"For Thor's sake..." Astrid muttered. She nudged Hiccup. "Go and bring her a fur cloak or something, it will be cold when we are flying." Astrid said.

"Flying? You mean with dragons?" Heather asked back almost terrified.

"I will go with her to the inn and get her something to eat." Astrid said ignoring her question.

"But I am not hungry. Let's just finish the dragon problem before. Please..."

"We are not going anywhere until you eat something." Astrid said, grabbing Heather and dragging her to the inn. They quickly arrived and Astrid began to search for the innkeeper, when she finally found him, she grabbed Heather and brought her to him. "What do you want to eat?" Astrid asked her.

"Uhm...A loaf of bread, please." Heather said with hesitation.

"You haven't eaten in two days and all you want is a loaf of bread?" Astrid asked her with an annoyed expression.

"I-I'm not that hungry..."

"If you keep eating like this you will die of starvation."

"Is not like I have a choice..."

"You don't have a choice?!" Astrid asked surprised and equally annoyed before quickly going after the innkeeper. "Can you please add an entire bread and three small fishes to that order? I will pay."

"Wait, no. You can't do that!" Heather quickly said.

"Watch me!"

"You are already helping me with the dragon problem, I can't ask for more."

"Listen, first we need to get to your island and we need you alive and well in order to do that. And the fact that they sent you, their final hope, to find us and you didn't even have enough silver to buy food, meant that your village is also poor, so we will bring a few baskets of food with us, as a sign of good faith."

"Would you really do that?" Heather asked after a small pause, looking shocked at Astrid.

"Of course. But first, you need to eat. We don't want you to pass out or something."

"Thank you!" Heather said before grabbing Astrid in a tight hug. Astrid was surprised by her sudden action and after a few seconds, she hugged her back.

"You're welcome."

"You have no idea how much this means." Heather said with small tears in her eyes, slowly releasing Astrid. "I don't even know how to repay you guys. The fact that you are helping us with dragons means a lot, but to even bring food with you for the village, that is more than I could've possibly asked. Thank you!"

"Well, dragons aren't that bad. Some of them are a little too paranoid for their own good, but most of them are friendly if you show no intention to hurt them. We can bring some dragons with us that will remain in your village to help you with fishing and hunting." Astrid said and Heather grabbed her in another hug, she could hear Heather slowly sob on her shoulder, but those weren't tears of sadness, those were tears of gratitude.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	16. Eyhirr

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

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"You stay and eat here." Astrid said after the innkeeper brought the food for Heather.

"Thank you, again." Heather responded before Astrid left. She quickly went to the market, where Hiccup was waiting for them with a fur cloak on his arms. He looked a little surprised at her, noticing that Heather was not with her anymore.

"Hiccup, do you think we can bring some food to her village?" Astrid asked, approaching him.

"Sure. But are you sure that there is indeed a village?"

"Almost certainly. She just cares too much to not be a village and I promised her that we would bring a few baskets of fish and bread."

"I will go and talk to Audun, you go in the forest and prepare Skuller and Nubs for the trip. And also, take this." Hiccup said giving the fur cloak to Astrid.

"Sure." Astrid responded as they started to walk in different directions.

A few hours later, they were making the final preparation for the trip. They tied the two baskets of bread to Nubs and the basket of fish to Skuller, they also packed a few bags with fruits and vegetable that were tied to a Hideous Zippleback, and let's not forget about the bags that were tied to Toothless's and Stormfly's saddles with some clothes and snacks for both of them.

"So how much time did you travel from you island here?" Hiccup asked, mounting Toothless, with Ild on his shoulder.

"A week, but with small halts on nearby islands." Heather answered.

"We should get there by nightfall." Astrid said, mounting Stormfly.

"So soon?" Heather asked back surprised.

"Flying makes things faster, now hop up."

"But I...Won't they hurt me?" Heather asked, with a glimpse of fear on her face.

"They are friendly." Astrid said, extending her hand to help her climb Stormfly. Heather looked hesitantly at Astrid until Blad jumped on her shoulder, making her flinch. "Relax."

"I've never been so close to a dragon before, not without the intention to hurt him or run." Heather said, accepting Astrid's help.

'She killed dragons before, I don't think we should trust her.' Skuller said.

'She could be dangerous.' And Nubs added.

"Did you actually kill dragons before?" Hiccup asked, looking slightly surprised at her.

"Only to defend myself."

"How many dragons have you killed?"

'Four.' Stormfly said.

"Three."

"Actually, you killed four."

"No. I only fought eight dragons in my life and I killed three of them, the rest got away. But from where did you get the idea that I killed four?"

"Stormfly said."

"Your dragon?" Heather asked in surprise.

"We spent so much time with dragons that we managed to understand their dialect and they can smell the blood of other dragons on your hands. So, you killed four dragons." Astrid explained.

"I-I'm sorry..." Heather said looking with sad eyes at Stormfly. "I only did it to protect myself."

'Tell her we are not mad at her, we know it was the only way.' Toothless said.

'There is always another way.' Skuller said.

'Always.' And Nubs accentuated.

'Just shut up you two.' Stormfly said getting annoyed at them.

"They are not mad, they know you did this only to protect yourself and your village. Now, are we ready?" Astrid asked.

"Sure..." Heather responded hesitantly.

"Let's go then!" Hiccup said as they all began to fly from Jàrnstarfa. At first Heather began to yell in panic at their sudden movement, but she slowly calmed herself when she noticed that nothing bad happened. They flew for a few hours, with Heather giving them instructions from time to time. The sun was slowly starting to fade when Heather released a small yell of excitement.

"There! That's it!" She said pointing to a huge island in the distance. There were a few fires lighting a small part of the island at the shore. Hiccup figured that there is where the village is at, so that's where they are headed.

"You should prepare a small speech from when we arrive." Hiccup said. "You will have to give some explanations."

"They know I went to find you, Fáfnir. The raids were just too much and we grew desperate. They are expecting you to come with dragons and teach us how to calm them, or at least to help us stop the raids." Heather responded.

"When you said your island was big, I wasn't expecting to be _this _big." Astrid said, joining the conversation.

"Well, it's full of wild animals and wild dragons that are not allowing us to expand or to hunt properly. So we can't really do anything..."

"Wild animals?" Hiccup asked, having an idea.

"Boars, wolfs, deers, boars, I even saw a lynx once."

"And you said that there are also dragons living in the forest?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I was thinking that after we finish your dragon problem we might shelter some of our dragons on your island since it's literally huge and has a lot of food. That way the dragons can also protect this island from future raids or other vikings."

"I'll have to talk with the chief about that, but are you sure that they won't turn against us?"

"The ones in Jàrnstarfa didn't. There are about twenty dragons there and they never tried to attack the village and that's how Jàrnstarfa managed to grow so big so quickly. The dragons helped fishing and hunting and building."

"Is Jàrnstarfa the village you were born?"

"No, but let's not talk about that." Hiccup said as they approached the island, soon they heard men yelling "DRAGON ATTACK!" and "GRAB YOUR WEAPONS!", but to their surprise, they didn't start to shot arrows at them and they saw all the villagers starting to gather in the centre of the settlement.

"I hope you prepared your speech." Astrid said as they landed in the village. The vikings carefully started to approach them, with their weapons readied. That was until Heather revealed herself from behind Astrid.

"Heather, you succeeded. You managed to bring Fáfnir to help us." An old man said, slowly approaching the dragon riders.

"Yes, they agreed to help us, they also brought food for us." Heather said, carefully dismounting Stormfly. The elder looked surprised at them before saying with a little sadness in his voice.

"We can't accept this gift, it's too much." The elder's reply caused the vikings to start and mutter among themselves. They were poor, but they still had their pride. They all stopped and paid attention as Hiccup began to talk.

"We brought food as a gift of good faith. We want to help you befriend the dragons and show to all the vikings that dragons can be trusted. You are helping us a lot more than we are helping you."

The villagers started again to talk among themselves about Hiccup's intentions, after a few minutes the elder said, silencing the other vikings. "How is it that our help is so valuable? We are just a poor village that is struggling to survive. Even if you teach us how to tame dragons, we won't be able to help you. We won't use those creatures for war or for hard labor." The elder's response made Hiccup smile a little under his mask. He was surprised that even after those dragons almost ruined the life of those vikings, they still wanted to treat them with respect. They just wanted peace.

"If we manage to stop the raids to your village, that will give a lot more credibility to my name and in turn will help us to convince a lot more vikings to trust dragons and in the end it will help us to achieve real peace with the dragons. There is no need for any more bloodshed. I want peace, not war. I would never ask for a human or dragon to sacrifice his life for me." They stood in silence for almost an minute, waiting for the elder's response.

"We agree then, you will help us to stop the dragon raids and in return, we will tell the world that you are a kind man, that seeks peace, not the bloodthirsty dragon rider the vikings say you are."

"Actually, I have a better offer." Hiccup began to say, gathering the attention of the entire village. "Since this island is huge and has a lot of wildlife, I would really appreciate if you would allow our dragons to live here, in the forest. They can help you hunt, fish, build, they can even protect you from the future raids and from other villages."

"How do we know that the dragons won't try to backstab us?"

"I am riding a Nightfury, the offspring of lighting and dead itself. I personally maimed him, ripped off his tailfin, almost ten months ago." Hiccup begin to say, making a few vikings gasp in surprise. "He had every reason to kill me in all this time, but he never tried to hurt me. I trust him and he trusts me. As long as there is mutual respect, the dragons won't ever try to betray you." Hiccup said. They stood in silence for a few minutes, waiting the elder's decision.

"We agree with your terms. But you also must understand that this is a shot in the dark for us, since we don't know if we can trust you or not."

"You can." Hiccup promptly responded.

"Now then, we can get to work in the morning, I am sure you are tired after your long trip. Heather will be responsible for you and she will be your guide for as long as you stay here." The elder said before he turned around and started to walk through the crowd.

"Much obliged." Hiccup said as he dismounted Toothless.

"Where are we going to take those baskets?" Astrid asked as she dismounted Stormfly.

"To the warehouse, but I will ask a few villagers to carry them." Heather said.

'Where are we going to stay for the night?' Toothless asked.

"We can make camp in the forest." Hiccup said detaching the baskets from Nubs.

"You can come stay at my house. It would be unfair to make you sleep outside after you agreed to help us." Heather said.

"But wouldn't we disturb your parents?" Astrid asked.

"No...My parents were...were killed in a dragon raid a few years ago..."

"I am sorry." Astrid said slowly patting her on the back.

"Well, let's get going then." Heather slowly said, leading the way through the village until they reached a modest house. As they entered the house, quickly followed by Toothless and Stormfly, they noticed a rather big room with a small fireplace in the middle, there were also some stairs that lead to the floor of the house. "Here is the heart of the house, there are a few cooking ingredients in some cupboards. The door to the left is where I sleep and the door to the right was a small storage room, now it's mostly empty. Finally the room on the top is the guest room. If you want I can sleep on the bench near the fire, so you won't have to share a room."

"You don't have to, we can share it." Hiccup said.

"But it only has one bed."

"Don't worry, we will share." Hiccup confirmed again.

"Does your village have a stable or a place where we can shelter the dragons?" Astrid asked.

"Sorry, we don't. We never really had much livestock so it was pointless to build a stable."

"It's alright, they can sleep outside." Hiccup said.

'What!?' Toothless quickly asked, surprised.

"The house is too small for you to sleep inside. If you stayed here we would barely have room to move around."

'You want to sleep, not to move around.' Toothless pointed out.

"It's very difficult to wake you two up. That means we won't be able to cook anything until we wake you up and get you out of the way."

'But...'

"You are only making this worse on yourself." Hiccup interrupted Toothless.

'How am I making this worse on myself?'

"You keep me and yourself awake and that means that we will have less time to sleep until morning." Hiccup said as Toothless sighed in defeat.

'I won't forget this.'

"Just go to sleep you overgrown cat." Hiccup said at which Astrid chuckled.

"Did he just have a fight with the Nightfury?" Heather asked a little confused.

"Yes, that's what happened. You should see them when they try to wrestle with each other."

"He is too proud for his own good." Hiccup said, joining the conversation after he led the two dragons outside.

"So are you!" Astrid pointed out.

"Me?! How am I too proud?"

"You never refused a duel from my father even after he almost broke your jaw."

"Her father broke your jaw?!" Heather asked surprised.

"No...It was just a friendly duel." Hiccup said chuckling nervously.

"See?! Even now you try to deny it." Astrid said laughing.

"No, I didn't!"

"The Great Fáfnir was not simply defeated by a viking." Astrid said mimicking a proud Hiccup pose, standing with her head high and with her hands on her hips.

"Stop that!" Hiccup said trying to grab her hands, making her get into a more normal position. Meanwhile Heather was sitting nearby watching them, discreetly covering her mouth to mask the laugh she was making.

"But you are so funny when you get nervous." Astrid said chuckling.

"I am so happy that I manage to make you laugh." Hiccup responded sarcastically.

"You two make such a cute couple." Heather finally spoke at which the two teens quickly looked at her and made a decent distance between them.

"Uhm...We are..." Astrid begin to say as she quickly glanced at Hiccup. "We are not together."

"No, we are not a couple." Hiccup quickly added.

"Why not?" Heather asked. They both looked surprised at her. They weren't expecting this conversation to go that way. They quickly glanced at each other, both trying to think about some plausible excuses. After a few seconds of hesitation, they both said at the same time.

"He got me shot with an arrow."

"Her father almost killed me."

But Heather couldn't help but laugh at their reactions. "Fine, I get it. I will go to sleep now." She said slowly walking to her room.

"No, we really are not together." Astrid said, still trying to convince her.

"Of course you are not." Heather said with a smirk before closing the door to her room. After almost a minute Hiccup slowly asked, slightly worried, but his mask didn't let his concerned face to be seen.

"Do you think she will tell somebody?"

"I won't." Heather answered from her room.

"Shit..." Astrid slowly said. "Listen, you can't tell anyone! I swear to all gods that I will gut you if you tell this to another living soul!"

"Don't worry, I know this information can be used against you, but I am not that kind of person. You came to our village to help us and I don't want to throw this chance away. You seem like nice people and I really want to be friends with you, so I won't do something that stupid to destroy the small amount of trust we managed to build in the last day. You can trust me that I will keep this as a secret." Heather responded opening her door, looking at them, making sure they saw that she was telling the truth.

Astrid and Hiccup slowly glanced at each other, trying to find reasons for them to trust Heather. So far she was telling the truth, about her village, about their problems, but they just met her a day ago. So far she didn't tried anything to make them doubt her, but she could as well be a bounty hunter. As she said, her village is poor and the bounty on their heads could be enough to provide them with a decent lifestyle, not to mention the Nightfury, one of the most powerful dragons as trophy could be worth a lot of gold for some persons.

They could run. The dragons were just outside, but that would ruin all their chances to make other villagers join them. Jàrnstarfa was not enough for them to convince _all_ the vikings, but it was a start. And by making another village join them, their credibility would grow exponentially, not to mention the huge island where they could house their dragons. If they could make this island join them, they would have the possibility to have enough dragons to be consider a real force in the Barbaric Archipelago. They could even announce to the entire Barbaric Archipelago that Jàrnstarfa and this island accepted dragons and the vikings wouldn't be able to do anything.

If Heather was telling the truth, they could make the dragons to be accepted by the vikings, but if she was lying and she just wanted the bounty on their heads, she would have doomed the Barbaric Archipelago. After a few minutes of silence, Hiccup finally spoke. "We will trust you."

"Good, I am happy to hear that." Heather responded with a small smile. "Now, if you need something don't hesitate to ask, you will find me in my room."

"Sure." Hiccup said as Heather slowly entered her room. Astrid looked slightly confused and worried at Hiccup.

"Are you sure about this?" Astrid asked, whispering. Hiccup just grabbed her hand and dragged her to their room. After they both entered the room, he quickly closed the door behind them and unequipped his helmet, tossing it on the bed and released a loud sigh.

"No..."

"Then why did you said that we trust her?" Astrid asked.

"She could had lure us here so her village could get the bounty on our heads. And Toothless is also a nice bonus, a Nightfury."

"Then why in Hel's name did you said that we trust her?" Astrid asked getting angry, but she still tried to keep the noise down.

"If they don't want to harm us and only seek our help, we could have a huge island where we can shelter a lot of dragons. And this means that there will be two villages that accepted dragons, this could help our name and bring more credibility to our idea. If this island will accept dragons, we could easily convince other small villages to join us. Not to mention that we will become a major power in the archipelago. It's risky, I know, but if we flee now and they really need help, no one will take us seriously anymore."

"Then what's the plan, _Fáfnir_?" Astrid asked, putting a small accentuation on the name.

"If nothing happens until tomorrow, we will go in the forest and bring a few wild dragons, to show the villagers that the dragons can be friendly and helpful."

"And what if _something _happens until tomorrow?"

"Your father is hiding in the forest, he will notice if something goes wrong and he can intervene. Not to mention that we have Skuller, Nubs and a Zippleback" Hiccup said as he sat on the bed.

"You want to take watch?"

"No, the dragons will alert us if anything happens."

"They are outside." Astrid said at which Hiccup sighed.

"I forgot...Damn it!" He said annoyed as he raised from the bed and starting to pace nervously.

"What's wrong?" Astrid asked approaching him, slightly worried.

"It's the second time I missed something important. Now we are stuck here in possible hostile environment. They could kill us. They could sent us back to Berk so that _our village_ can kill us."

"Hiccup, listen to me. Everything will be alright. You just made a little...miscalculation, yes, just a small miscalculation. It happens. It's nothing too serious."

"I also made a 'little miscalculation' when you were shot with an arrow."

"That was not your fault. You can't blame yourself for that."

"You could have died."

"But I didn't."

"You could have died and it would've been only my fault."

"Hiccup!" Astrid said a little louder, wanting to get his full attention. "You saved me. It's only because of you that I am still alive. You defeated Snotlout and you managed to bring me back home and attend my wound. "

"But if I wouldn't have brought you with me in the first place, there would've been no wound to attend."

"But if you wouldn't have brought me with you on Berk and something happened to you, I would never forgive myself. And besides, if I wouldn't had been shot with that arrow, we would've never had all those beautiful moments the following day." Astrid said slowly approaching him, until she was close enough to place a small kiss on his lips.

"But the pain..."

"It was worth it." Astrid quickly interrupted him.

"I still believe that there could've been another way, a better way..."

"We will never find out, but I doubt it."

"Maybe if we didn't go to save Torch..."

"Hiccup, just, shut up!" Astrid said getting annoyed.

"But..."

"I am happy with how things went, please stop blaming yourself. If I would have the chance to change the past, I wouldn't change a thing."

"Do you really mean it?" Hiccup asked, slowly bringing her closer to him.

"Maybe I should have cut your hair a few weeks ago, but that's about it." Astrid responded at which they both laughed. They slowly stopped as their eyes met. They tenderly kissed, bringing their bodies closer. In all the time they spent together, those kind of moments were the most valuable for both of them. Those kind of moments reminded them that they will always have each other's back, that they will always support each other and that they would even follow each other to the deeps of Helheim and back. They both favored those kind of slow, passionate kisses, filled with emotion, with pleasure, allowing them to share their feelings at a level that just couldn't be described with mere words. But those moments were rare, it wasn't just as simple as saying 'I will have your back.', no, those moments only happened when they needed the warmth of each other's embrace, when they needed the comfort only the other person could offer, when they were happy that they were in a difficult situation _together._ But just as those moments were rare, they never lasted long, it was a perfect balance that could be destroyed by almost any hostile movement or action, and sadly for them, this was no exception. They were enjoying each other's embrace until a low voice spoke behind them.

"I hope I don't interrupt anything, lovebirds." They slowly departed until they were able to see each other's eyes, slowly getting lost in their gaze again. "I can go away if you want." The man said again at which Astrid released a loud sigh, slowly leaving Hiccup's warm embrace.

"No, dad, you didn't interrupt anything."

"Your reaction says otherwise." Cuyler sat on the window ledge before swinging his legs over and joining the couple in the room.

"Then why did you ask if you interrupted something if you already knew the answer?"

"Because I wanted to get your attention."

"You've got it now." Astrid answered a little annoyed.

"What do you think about this village and about this girl, Heather? So far do you think it's a trap?" Cuyler asked, ignoring the tone at which Astrid previously responded.

"The village welcomed us. They actually look like they want to live in harmony with the dragons and it doesn't look like a trap. Also, Heather knows that we are together." Astrid answered.

"So, a person that you just met a day ago and had led us to an unknown village already knows that you two are a couple? You do realize that she can use that against you? How can you two be so irresponsible?"

"She found out on her own. And we already knew the situation we were in before we arrived here. But so far the risks are worth it compared with the possible rewards." Hiccup said.

"So the fact that you two can die is worth it for the POSSIBILITY of another village joining us?" Cuyler asked, slightly yelling.

"If we can make this village join us, we can shelter a lot of dragons in this forest. It's literally huge and filled with wild animals. The dragons will have a lot of space and food. We can support enough dragons to actually become a major power in the archipelago." Hiccup explained.

"But if you die, then what? Who in Hel's name is going to bring peace? You two are far more valuable than you realize. You two might be our only chance to achieve real peace with the dragons. And you go risking your life here and there."

"Thank you for summing that up..."

"I'm serious!"

"So am I! If we don't do things like this, we will never be convincing enough to make other villages join and we certainly could never make a big village join us. As risky as it might be, we must become a force in the Barbaric Archipelago as soon as possible and with as much support as possible."

"You are still young. You can safely gather enough dragons and vikings. You don't have to change the world tomorrow. You still have many years ahead of you."

"But they are dying! Every day dragons and vikings are murdering each other! The longer we wait, the more bloodshed there will be." Hiccup said as Cuyler just looked at him, slightly annoyed. He did bring some good arguments, but it still looked a little to rushed for his liking. If they would just have the patience to take things nice and slow, they wouldn't be in this situation, but then maybe he wouldn't have found his daughter so quickly. After all, Jàrnstarfa just appeared on the map after only one month since Hiccup first visited that village. Maybe it was better if they rushed things a little, the less dragons and vikings died, the more of them had the chance to join them.

"Sadly, you are making sense. Just be more careful next time. I will leave you two to sleep." Cuyler said, slowly approaching the window from where he entered.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	17. Dragons

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

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The following morning Astrid was the first one up. In all the days they spent on their island Hiccup would usually be the first one up since the two dragons that lived with them were just too lazy to go and bring their own breakfast, so Hiccup would have to bring two baskets of fish from their stack and bring their food to the entrance of the cave, so they wouldn't make the whole cave smell like fish. But in the time it took him to feed the dragons, Astrid would usually wake up and she wouldn't allow him to go back to sleep. So every time they were on Jàrnstarfa Hiccup would take advantage of the fact that their dragons spent the night in the forest and oversleep, by a lot, to recover all the hours of rest he lost in the previous week.

After Astrid slowly got up from near Hiccup, she looked at his peaceful expression, at his slow and calm breathing and she couldn't stop but smile at him and wondering what he was dreaming. She quickly shook her head and got her clothes and armor from the small chest that was in their room. After she was fully dressed and equipped she went downstairs, wanting to let Hiccup sleep a little more. After she was in the hearth of the house, she went to a window and looked outside, she was a little surprised that it was early in the morning and Heather left no trace to where she was at, so she started to look around the house, inspecting the place where they were going to live for at least another week, she wanted to make sure there were no hidden weapons or devices that could hurt them, she even wanted to check Heather's room but decided against it since she would invade her privacy and it seemed rude, to say the least, to do that to the person that welcomed you into their home.

After almost an hour of searching and not finding anything, she went outside, looking for Stormfly to get some food from her bag. Luckily for her, the dragons were peacefully sleeping just outside the door. She went and untied her bag from the saddle, trying to be as quiet as possible to not wake up the dragons. After she grabbed the bag she went inside the house and started to reignite the fire that extinguished itself at some point during the night. She wanted to cook a few fish for their hostess and her still sleeping boyfriend. After almost half a hour later she grabbed three small wooden plates and placed them on the table near the fire. She then placed on each plate two fish and a loaf of bread from her bag, then she wanted to go upstairs and wake Hiccup, so she wouldn't have to eat alone. As she opened the door she said. "Breakfast's ready!"

"Five more minutes..." Hiccup slowly muttered.

"I made breakfast for us and I don't want to eat alone."

"Eat with Heather."

"I haven't seen her."

"Eat with Stormfly." Hiccup said, covering his head with the pillow.

"Just come down you big baby!" Astrid said pulling the furs that were covering him and throwing them on the floor, away from the bed.

"You just can't let me sleep peacefully, can you?" Hiccup said sleepily, searching the bed for something to cover himself from the cold air.

"Not when it's almost noon!" Astrid yelled, approaching him.

"Five more minutes, then I promise I will come down." Hiccup begged again, slowly curling himself in a desperate way to keep warm.

"Fine. But if in five minutes I don't see you down, I will come and make you come down with my axe." Astrid threatened leaving the room. After Hiccup heard the door close. He started to search the bed for the furs Astrid took from him a few moments ago, but when he turned around, he saw them on the ground, at a decent distance from the bed. He released a loud sigh, looking sad at the furs that were on the floor. After almost a minute of contemplating between the idea of risking his skin to get the furs from the floor and trying to continue to sleep, making Astrid angry, or if he should just abandon any hope of sleeping and just go down to eat with her. He knew from different events that Astrid would not hesitate to follow on a threat if she was mad about something, and it didn't seemed to be such a good idea to make Astrid mad in their first day on an unknown village wanting to help the vikings that live here to coexist with the dragons. So he tried to gather all his strength to get up and abandon the comfort of his bed for the cold air that awaited him a few feet away, sleepily, he started to walk to the chest near the wall and slowly started to equip his leather armor and weapons, and within a few minutes he slowly started to walk to the door. With great effort he managed to walk down the stairs and sit near Astrid at the table without falling or hitting something in the process.

"Well good morning!" Astrid said after he sat down, near her. Hiccup just gave her a 'are you serious?' look, that made Astrid laugh a little, before he slowly started to eat his food. "Even after half a year with dragons, you are still not a morning person." Astrid pointed out, trying to start a conversation.

"Am I not allowed to oversleep once in a while?" Hiccup asked a little frustrated.

"You oversleep every time we go to Jàrnstarfa."

"Each morning _I_ have to wake up and feed those lazy overgrown fire breathing flying reptiles. They just _can't_ go hunting on their own like any normal dragon would. _And_ after I finally get back in my sleeping bag, you wake up wanting me to help you cook something and then go training. So I am sorry if I oversleet once in a while." Hiccup said annoyed with a little bit of his usual sarcasm.

"Guess someone got up on the wrong side of the bed." Astrid said rolling her eyes, also starting to eat.

"I hate you."

"I know, I love you too." Astrid responded with a cute smile.

"What's with all this noise?" Another person sleepily asked, slowly walking to the table.

"Where have you been?" Astrid asked looking a little surprised at Heather.

"Sleeping." Heather responded after she yawned, at which Hiccup quickly made a sign saying that he wasn't the only one that thought it was too early to wake up.

"Good morning then!" Astrid responded with a small smile, trying to ignore Hiccup.

"You two cooked this?" Heather asked as she sat on her chair.

"Astrid did."

"But from where? I don't have any fish."

"I brought some with us just in case we would've had to sleep in the forest, but since you are letting us stay with you, it's the least we can do to repay you."

"Thank you." Heather said with a small smile as she slowly started to eat. She quickly glanced at the two people in front of her and on a closer inspection she noticed that Fáfnir wasn't wearing his mask. After almost a minute of not knowing how to react, she felt like she needed to point that out to him. "Uhm, Fáfnir, I don't know if you noticed, but you don't have your mask on."

"I know, I can't eat with my mask on." Hiccup slowly responded, but he didn't notice as Astrid quickly turned her head and looked annoyed at him. After he made no intentions to suggest that he wanted to get up and put his mask on, Astrid smacked him over the back of his head. "What in Thor's name is wrong with you?!" Hiccup quickly yelled in response at her action.

"You forgot your helmet upstairs, you idiot!" Astrid yelled at him.

"You called me down to eat! And I can't eat with my helmet covering my mouth!"

"You even brought your swords but you forgot your helmet? How can you be so reckless?!"

"You didn't say anything even after I started eating! If you are so upset about it why didn't you said something before?"

"So now it's _my_ fault?!"

"Well, it's not fully _my _fault!"

"STOP!" Heather finally yelled, making them turn their attention to her. "Just, stop! I will go upstairs and bring your helmet if you two would just stop fighting."

"But you already know too much about us. And the fact that this _idiot_ forgot his helmet only makes our situation more delicate." Astrid said slowly calming down, but giving Hiccup a quick glare after she called him an idiot.

"I promised you that I will keep everything I found out about you two, intentionally or not, a secret, and I intend to keep my promise. And why does only he have to wear a mask?"

"Because I am Fáfnir." Hiccup responded giving her a confused look.

"And she is your girlfriend." Heather said at which the couple quickly glanced at each other, not fully understanding her point. "Or advisor or comrade or whatever in public, but she is the only other person that is known to ride a dragon." Heather continued to add as she noticed their still confused expressions. "And if someone recognizes her as a Dragon Rider, they could kidnap and torture her, making her reveal your hideout or your secrets on how to tame dragons. Damn, they could even murder her. And also, the name of Fáfnir isn't the only one that is pretty famous in the archipelago, people also know that there is a blonde girl with him. So it's still stupid of you to think that no one will figure out who she is and that only you need to wear a mask."

"She does have a point." Hiccup said, looking slightly worried at Astrid as he realized just how careless they were and just how risky they acted so far.

"Yes..." Astrid said grabbing his hand, wanting to comfort him, noticing his worried face. As she knew that she could probably resist torture, since she was raised by vikings after all, she would still rather not. Their previous experience with her being hurt by a simple arrow just showed her how much _Hiccup_ could get hurt from her physical injury, since he hated, to say the least, to know that _she_ was in pain and not able to do anything to ease it. In the end, he would still blame himself for his inability to protect her, even if he couldn't do anything about it.

"I can make you something similar to my helmet after we get home."

"I don't like your helmet..." Astrid responded.

"But you said it's a good helmet."

"Yes, it is a good helmet, but what I meant is that I wouldn't like a helmet like yours."

"Then an iron helmet, that would cover all your head, like the warriors in the south wear?"

"It would be kind of heavy, it would only slow my movement."

"I saw that you came here with that fur cloak of yours that has a hood and it pretty much covers most of your head, maybe you can add something that will also slightly cover your face?" Heather suggested.

"Like what?" Astrid asked back, liking the idea.

"Maybe you can wear some piece of cloth as a scarf and slightly cover your lower face?"

"I can talk to a trader to bring something like that. Heather, this is a genius idea!" Astrid said looking excited at her.

"That's why I'm here for." Heather proudly responded, happy that she was useful before she resumed to eat her food.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Later that day, the three of them went to the forest to show Heather how to act around wild dragons and maybe even bring a few dragon back to the village. As they were walking through the forest, searching for wild dragons, they began to explain the basics on how to deal with dragons to Heather.

"First of all, you need to show the dragon that you mean no harm." Hiccup explained.

"And how do I do that?"

"You can do that by slowly and carefully approaching him, showing him that you have no weapons that could hurt him and bringing him a token of peace. Especially food."

"Most dragons prefer meat, more exactly fish." Astrid added.

"And after I give him the food, how can I be sure that it won't try to attack me?"

"You can't be sure that a dragon won't turn hostile after that, but the odds of that happening are a lot more dim than before giving him food. And now, after you showed a dragon that you mean no harm, next on the list is to win their trust."

"So the fact that I brought him food while it did nothing is not enough to win it's trust?"

"That just means that you mean no harm at the moment, but that's not enough for a dragon to trust you. Let's be honest, did you trust us even after we brought food for your village?"

"I had some small doubts, but after I saw how close you two are, I figured neither of you would try to do something that might put the other one in danger."

"Wait, you didn't trust us after we agreed to help you and gave you a ride home?" Astrid quickly said, glancing at the other girl.

"Uhm...Not really..." Heather answered hesitantly. "But I trusted you enough to let you sleep at my home." She quickly added after she noticed Astrid's glance turning into an annoyed look.

"Right..." Astrid said rolling her eyes, resuming her search for a dragon.

"But I trust you two now. Really, I do. Please tell me that I didn't just screw up all my chances for you to help us..."

"We trust you since you didn't try to kill us while we were sleeping." Hiccup said before Astrid made a sign for them to get low.

"There is a Nadder, drinking from a pond." Astrid whispered, while they were all hiding in the bushes, watching the dragon.

"What do we do?" Heather asked looking worriedly at the dragon.

"Take this." Hiccup said pulling a fish from the basked he was carrying and giving it to Heather.

"What should I do with this?"

"Go out there and befriend your first dragon!"

"Wait, what? A-Are you serious? I-I can't possible befriend a dragon yet." Heather quickly said looking panicked at the two.

"Just go out there!" Astrid said shoving Heather out of the bush they were hiding. The Deadly Nadder quickly turned around with her tail readied to shot her spikes and looked at the person who dared to disturb her silence.

"Shit..." Heather slowly said, looking terrified at the dragon in front of her. After almost a minute, the two supposed archenemies were still glaring at each other, not making a move.

"What are you waiting for?" Hiccup whispered loud enough for her to hear him.

"I don't know what to do..." Heather quickly answered, not daring to look away from the dragon.

"Talk and approach him, after you are close enough give him the fish."

"Uhm...Hello..." Heather began to say awkwardly, slowly walking towards the dragon. "My name is Heather, I brought this yummy fish, I want to be your friend, please don't kill me."

The dragon looked confused at her, but soon he got in a more relaxed position, lowering his tail and slowly approaching Heather.

"He's getting closer! What do I do?!"

"Give him the fish." As soon as Hiccup said that Heather extended her arm so that the fish was now in front of the Nadder. The dragon carefully sniffed the fish before slowly grabbing it from Heather's grasp. As soon as the dragon swallowed the fish he started to playfully nudge Heather. The girl looked worried at his action at first, then she slowly started to pet him.

"Well, she did it without losing a limb." Astrid said approaching the girl with Hiccup behind her.

"How do you feel?" Hiccup asked.

"Still a little terrified, but mostly okay, I guess."

"You don't feel amazing? Like you could fight off the entire world with this dragon, that no one could stand between you and your goal if this dragon would help you?" Astrid asked surprised, almost yelling.

"No...Not really, no." Heather answered looking confused at them.

"But do you feel like you can trust this dragon?" Hiccup questioned.

"Yes, I think so. To some extent."

"Okay, I'm confused." Astrid said.

"Me too."

"Did I do something wrong?" Heather asked worried, looking at their reaction.

"I don't think so. But we two felt completely different things when we befriended our first dragons." Hiccup said, pointing at him and Astrid.

They started to walk back to the village sooner than they initially intended to, needing to talk to Toothless and Stormfly about this situation. But on their way back they managed to bring another Deadly Nadder with them. As soon as they entered the village a group of vikings slowly started to approach them, looking at them in shock. The two dragon riders thought that they might want to attack them, but Heather quickly reassured them that they are just amazed that they managed to bring two wild dragons back to the village in such a short time.

"I see that you already started to tame the dragons in the forest." The elder said, slowly approaching them.

"This was all Heather's doing." Fáfnir said.

"You managed to tame two wild dragons?" The elder asked, approaching Heather.

"They told me what to do, they guided me."

"Thank you, thank you for your kindness."

"There is still a lot to do, only two dragons won't be able to stop the raids on your village. Two dragons won't even make a big difference even if they helped you hunting or fishing." Fáfnir said.

"But you willingly shared your secrets with one of our villagers, a viking nonetheless, a viking who already killed dragons, but the fact that she managed to tame two wild dragon shows that there is still hope, hope for all of us." The elder said, pointing to the group of vikings behind him.

"The dragons are willing to forgive as long as the vikings are willing to forgive. When I leave this village, I want you to live in harmony with the dragons, that's my goal here."

"And we will be forever in your debt." The elder said with a small bow, at which some other vikings behind him followed his example.

"Don't do that..." Hiccup said, quickly walking to the old man and helping him to get back up. "I am not greater than any of you. I just have a dream that I wish to fulfill. I am not more important than any of you!"

"No, you are not. We all have this common goal, to live peace, to live in peace with the dragons. We all tried to achieve peace, but with different methods, so far, your method seems the most efficient and that's why we will help you fulfill this common goal, that's why we will help you carry out this quest."

"Thank you." Was all Hiccup could say at the moment.

"Go now, resume your business." The elder said, slightly pushing Hiccup to encourage him to get going. The three teens slowly started to walk towards Heather's home, followed by the two Deadly Nadders. As they were closing to the house, they noticed Toothless sleeping at the shadow of the house with Ild and Blad on his back, but the other dragons were nowhere to be seen.

"Hey Toothless, where is Stormfly and the rest?" Hiccup asked, patting his dragon on the head.

'Flying...' The dragon melancholically answered.

"We can go flying too, you know?" Hiccup said, making Toothless to get up a little too sudden, scaring the two Terrors that were resting on his back. "But first, I want to ask you few questions." And with that Toothless adopted an annoyed expression.

'What...?'

"You remember when we first meet at the cove that we felt connected?"

'Yes and?'

"And how Astrid felt connected with Stormfly?"

'Yes, and?'

"Heather didn't felt any of that."

'That's because she is not bonded to any of those dragons.'

"What do you mean?"

'She might like those Nadders, she might trust them, but she does not share bond with them, she is not connected to them.'

"And how can we make her bond to them?"

'You can't.'

"Why not?"

'You can only bond to one dragon and one alone. But you can still befriend, as you call it, other dragons, but you are bonded to me. And the same goes for dragons. Now the trick is that you can't force a bond to happen, only when both dragon and human are prepared and are willing to trust the other with their life, only then the bond will be formed.'

"That makes sense, but how can we prepare Heather to be able to bond with a dragon?"

'Don't know. Let's go flying!'

"But..."

'I can explain in detail while we fly. Come on!' Toothless said, starting to jump around excited

"For how long had been the others gone?" Hiccup asked as he approached Toothless, making him stop.

'An hour or so.'

"Let's go find them then. Astrid, can you explain to Heather what we just talked while I go with Toothless and find the other dragons? Please."

"Yeah, sure. Have fun." Astrid answered as she watched Hiccup and Toothless take off and quickly got lost in the clouds.

"I feel kind of sad for the Nightfury." Heather said as they both walked inside, followed by Ild and Blad.

"Why is that?"

"He lost his tailfin. He can't fly without someone riding him and it must feel terrible to watch the other dragons fly when they want without being able to join them."

"Yes, it's sad. But that helped them gain each other's trust. They had been in a few dangerous situations from which they wouldn't had been able to escape without each other's help."

"That's also true, I guess."

"Also, we should get on with the serious things."

"About that bonding thing?"

"Yes."

"I don't get what's the big deal. Two dragons trust me and I trust them, so what if I don't feel connected to any of them, I bet they don't feel connected to me. But that doesn't mean that we will kill each other."

"The problem is that I don't know if they will ever let you to fly them or even trust you enough to protect you in certain situations. Me and Hiccup can persuade them to let us fly them, but that's only because they can feel that we meet a lot of dragons and we don't have dragon blood on our hands. But in your case, I'm not so sure."

"Wait, Hiccup?" Heather asked confused at which Astrid quickly covered her mouth with her hands. "So Fáfnir's name isn't really _Fáfnir_, it's Hiccup?" Heather asked at which Astrid tried to not make a move, not wanting to give away any more information. But Heather took her lack of action as a confirmation and so she decided to continue. "That means that _Fáfnir_ is just a name he uses to cover his true identity. But why would he want to cover his true identity?"

"That's not important." Astrid quickly said wanting to drop the topic.

"I haven't betrayed your trust yet." Heather quickly pointed out.

"You really want to know?" Astrid finally said.

"Yes, if you want to share."

"Fine..." Astrid said after she sighed. "Have you heard of Berk?"

"Yes, of course. Every viking had heard of Berk."

"He is Stoick's son and he is marked for high treason for leaving his village for a dragon."

"Are you serious?!"

"Yes."

"And what about you?"

"I was banished the following day for helping a traitor."

"But if you were his girlfriend why didn't you leave with him?"

"I...I wasn't then. I found him two months later on an island and a month later, after some events, we had our first kiss and we became a couple."

"But why weren't you two together on Berk?"

"I don't want to talk about that."

"Why?"

"I just, don't. Leave it like that." Astrid said, rising her tone a little. "You already know who we really are."

"You don't trust me enough to tell me that?" Heather said, still trying to persuade her.

"It's a mistake I made a long time ago and I don't want to think about it. But promise me you won't tell another living soul about this conversation!"

"Not even Fáfnir, I mean Hiccup?"

"I will tell him after he comes back. Promise me Heather!" Astrid said, almost yelling.

"I promise! You don't have to worry about it."

"Thanks."

"So, now, dragons." Heather said, trying to avoid the awkward silence that was about to happen otherwise.

"Yes. So, Toothless said that once you are willing to trust a dragon with your life and the dragon is willing to trust you with his or her life, then you can form a bond with a dragon."

"You can form a bond only with one dragon?"

"Yes."

"That sucks..."

"But you can still befriend as many dragons as you like. Look at me for example, I am bonded with Stormfly, my Nadder, but Blad here still loves me and I love him." Astrid said, scratching the head of the small Terrible Terror that was sitting on her shoulder.

"Then why do I need to bond with a dragon when I can befriend as many dragons as I want?"

"Because the dragon with whom you bond is a special one. This dragon will never ever think of betraying you and will protect you with the cost of his or her life, but will expect the same treatment from you."

"That sounds doable. But how will I know if a dragon is willing to trust me with his life?"

"You will know, trust me."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A few hours later, as the sun began to set, Hiccup finally arrived back home. He slowly opened the door, entered the house, and after he noticed only Astrid and Heather were there, he unequipped his helmet and sat by the fire.

"You took a lot more time than I initially thought you would." Astrid said.

"Well, I just had a wonderful experience searching for the two Gronckles for about an hour. After I finally found them in the forest, they didn't want to come back home. Guess why?" Hiccup said with a sarcastic tone. After he saw no response, he felt like he needed to add. "No, I'm serious, try to guess."

"They found tasty rocks?"

"No."

"They were sleeping?" Heather questioned.

"No."

"Then tell us!" Astrid said.

"They found a new friend. A huge Gronckle and they didn't want to leave it."

"And what did you do?" Astrid said as she brought a small wooden bowl to the table.

"After about another hour of arguing, we brought their friend home."

"You brought a new dragon?" Heather quickly said, slightly excited.

"Yes, he is outside, sleeping probably." Hiccup said as he looked at Astrid bringing another bowl to the table. "What did you cook?"

"Can I go see the dragon?" Heather quickly interrupted.

"Sure."

"Won't he attack me?"

"No."

"How do you know?"

"He is so fricking lazy that I am surprised he didn't fall asleep while he flew here." Hiccup said as Heather quickly walked pass him and went outside.

"We made some stew with the vegetables we brought." Astrid said bringing the third bowl to the table and sitting on a chair. "We went today to the warehouse and Heather explained that the village shares everything, so the food we brought was equally shared between the villagers."

"Well, it's a small village, everyone knows everyone." Hiccup said as he walked and sat near Astrid at the table.

"Hiccup, I need to tell you something."

"What?" He quickly asked, starting to eat his stew.

"I might had told Heather a few things I shouldn't have."

"Like what?" Hiccup asked, his face serious.

"Nothing too important." Astrid said trying to ease the tension.

"Astrid, what did you say?"

"Promise me you won't be mad."

"Astrid!"

"I told her your name and who you were." Astrid quickly said.

Hiccup looked confused and rather annoyed at her until he uttered. "Why..?"

"I'm sorry. I accidentally said your name and she grew curious and then I told her who you are..."

"Why?"

"Because...Because I felt like I could trust her and she kept asking!"

"We met her two days ago!"

"I know..."

"What are you two talking about?" Heather asked as she entered the house and sat down at the table.

"About Astrid's big mouth." Hiccup said slightly annoyed, starting to eat.

"Oh...I'm sorry, I persuaded Astrid to tell me. It's my fault really, don't be mad at her." Heather said, trying to defend Astrid.

"But why did you persuade her?"

"Because you guys are so secretive, it's annoying. I just want to know what your real motives are. It's that such a bad thing?"

"Well, yeah. Since most of the Barbaric Archipelago wants us dead. I'm sure you understand why we are so secretive."

"Yes, I know. But you are living in my house and I already promised you that I won't betray your trust, and on the other hand, why would I risk to betray you when I know that you have the power to destroy the entire village? Not to mention the other person that is probably hiding in the forest right now."

"What other person?" Astrid asked surprised.

"When I first talked to you, there were three persons. Fáfnir, you and another man, and I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't try to visit an unknown island without a backup plan."

"How do you know that?" Hiccup asked, giving a quick glance at Astrid.

"I am not stupid, okay? I came with the idea to search for you and ask for your help. I knew all the risks that we would take by trusting an unknown dragon rider and I also thought about the risks you'd take by trusting us."

"So you are not going to say anything to anyone?"

"No."

"You know that we are taking a huge risk, right?"

"Yes, but I also hope that you are not going to kill me to make sure I keep my mouth shut." As Heather said that, Astrid and Hiccup shared a quick glance that made Heather look a little worried at them. "You won't try to kill me, right?"

"Why would we do something like that?" Hiccup asked, resuming eating.

"To make sure that I'll keep your secrets."

"But then your village will hunt us."

"Yes, but it's almost night, so you could kill me and then flee with your dragons."

"And then what?"

"And then what, what?"

"If we will indeed kill you, then your village will hate us and will spread bad rumors about us, and that will make it a lot harder to convince other vikings that dragons aren't bad creatures. So killing you would be unproductive."

"So you won't try to kill me?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You promise?"

"Shut up and eat!" Astrid finally said, making them eat in silence for a few minutes. After they finished eating, they all went in their rooms with an amicable 'Goodnight!'

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	18. Unexpected

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

**And from now on, I will introduce dragons from HTTYD 2, BUT, there won't be any spoilers from the second movie. I will warn you if there will be spoilers from HTTYD 2 just like I did now. If you haven't been able to watch the movie yet, I strongly recommend it. possibly one of the best sequels to a movie I ever saw. **

* * *

The following day, Astrid was again the first one to wake up, and just as the previous day, she decided to let Hiccup sleep a little longer. So she got dressed and equipped before she went down stairs. The first thing she noticed was that the fireplace was already ignited, that means Heather was already up. She was a little surprised by this since the previous day Heather woke up after them and she still looked tired even after they went in the forest to look for dragons. After Astrid looked a little around the house and didn't see Heather anywhere, she thought that she went outside to talk to the villagers or something, so she decided to make breakfast again for her and Hiccup. She went outside and she saw Stormfly sitting near a basket, close to the road. Her dragon seemed to be looking for someone or something in the village. "Morning Stormfly!" Astrid said as she approached her dragon.

'Morning!' Stormfly responded, giving Astrid a quick glance before turning her head to look in the village again.

"Where are the others?"

'Fishing.'

"Really? Why?"

'Heather came a few hours ago and asked the two new Nadders to go fishing with her and we decided to go help them.'

"So you dived in and out of the water all morning?"

'Not quite, the girl actually had a good idea. Me and the other Nadders would try to lead the fish in a certain direction where Skuller and Nubs were waiting with a huge net, catching the fish.'

"And where are Toothless and the Zippleback?"

'In the forest, hunting with Heather.' Stormfly said, still trying to look for someone in the distance.

"And the new Gronckle?"

'Farble is in the village helping them to carry a few logs. He should have finished about ten minutes ago. We still need his help to transport the fish from the beach to the warehouse. And also, he is not a Gronckle. He is actually a cousin of the Gronckle family. Heather said that they call their species Hotburble. '

"His name is Farble?!"

'Heather called him like that after we thought it was going to puke molten metal, but he just farted.'

"Seriously?!" Astrid asked surprised as she began to laugh.

'Yes, it was rather unpleasant.'

"I bet. Do you know when will Heather return from the forest?"

'They went about an hour ago. She said that she only wanted to hunt a few deer for pelts and meat. So they should be back at any moment.'

"Do you mind if I get some fish from the basket and go cook them?"

'Go ahead!'

"And can you tell Heather to come home when she arrives?"

'She can't understand us.'

"I know. Just, point to the house or something." Astrid said walking back to their temporary home.

'Sure...' Stormfly said with a bored expression.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Heather was slowly sneaking behind an unsuspected deer with her bow readied. When the view was clear, she stealthily grabbed an arrow and with a rather quick action, shot the deer. The instincts of the unsuspecting animal at the sudden outburst of pain told him to start running to safety, but after a few seconds, it collapsed on the soft grass. Heather swiftly approached the deer and noticed that it was still alive, barely, but still breathing. She kneeled next to the deer and calmly placed her hand on the deer's head, gently petting the animal, trying to relax it on his last moments. With her other hand she slowly grabbed an arrow from her quiver and with a quick move, sliced the throat of the deer with the arrow head, putting it out of his misery. After a few seconds, Heather got up from near the deer and said. "This is the fifth one. We can go home now." As she said that, Toothless and the Zippleback approached her. The two headed dragon was already carrying three deers while the Nightfury only had one on his back. "Thank you for helping me." Heather said trying to carry the last deer on her back as they all headed back to the village.

'You should help her carry that.' One of the Zippleback's heads said.

'She is strong enough to carry that deer on her own.' Toothless answered.

'Doesn't look like it.' The other Zippleback head pointed out as Heather was struggling to carry the deer on her back.

'She'll manage.'

'We should help her.' One head said while the other grabbed the deer Heather was carrying.

"What?!" Heather asked surprised as she felt the deer being suddenly pulled from her grip, but after she turned around and saw the Zippleback tossing the deer on his back, along with the others, she just smiled and said. "Thank you." Then they all started to walk back to the village. "I can't believe how wrong we were about you."

'The feeling was mutual for a long time.' Toothless said.

"If we had a person like Hiccup a long time ago, maybe now there would be peace. Real peace."

'I also helped, a lot. For beginners, I didn't kill him after he ripped my tailfin!' Toothless snorted, a little annoyed. Heather quickly turned around and looked confused at the dragon.

"Did I say something wrong?"

'Yes.'

"I'm sorry if I said something that annoyed you." Heather said approaching Toothless and carefully petting his head.

'You think that I'll forget that easily?'

'Does he realize that she can't understand us?' One of the Zippleback's heads asked the other.

'Don't think so.'

"You are rather friendly for the _offspring of lighting and death itself_." Heather said with a small laugh before they resumed their walk towards the village. They ventured rather deep in the forest, so they still had at least twenty minutes until they would reach the village. The two Zippleback's heads were talking among themselves, Toothless was dreamily looking at the sky, wanting to go flying with his rider, while Heather was leading the way to the village, also a little distracted by the forest. It was rather quiet, only some small birds sang, the wind slowly blowing the leafs, even some small animals dared to approach them. A squirrel jumped on Toothless's back, distracting the Nightfury from his daydreaming. The dragon looked rather curious at the small creature that dared to disturb him, but he was quickly brought back to reality by a yell that came right from in front of him. It was Heather, she had been pinned to a tree by a Monstrous Nightmare.

"Shit! Oh gods, this is bad!" Heather said trying to push of her the huge claws that were caging her to a tree. "Breathe Heather! Just breathe stupid! Calm down! Just calm yourself! Slowly breathe in, and out." She told to herself, starting to focus on her breathing to try and relax a little. "Okay. Okay, I'm good." She took another deep breath. "Hey nice dragon." She said starting to pet the foot that was pinning her to the tree. The dragon looked rather confused at her, still somewhat angry and violent, but mostly confused. "I know that you can kill me now, but please don't. I know that I hurt and even killed dragons in the past, but now I trust them, I am trying to change. I know they are not enemies. I know that we can be friends. So please, don't kill me." The dragon looked like he was thinking about her suggestion. No other viking ever tried to live in peace with them. Why would she want to be friends with him? A _human _to be _friends _with a _dragon_? That was outrageous. She had to be lying. She had to be lying so that he wouldn't kill her. But he wasn't that stupid, he wasn't that stupid to buy a cheap lie like this. Vikings only wanted to slay them, to kill all the dragons. Why should this girl be any different?

So he steadily brought his head to hers, wanting to see her last reaction before ripping her head off. Heather understood what he wanted to do and she started to pet his snout, trying to convince him that she is not the enemy, not anymore. She was starting to panic. Things like this happened before. It wasn't the first time she was pinned to the ground by a dragon. All her instincts were telling her to grab the dagger from her waist and stab the dragon in the foot, but that stood against everything she learned in the last two days. She could easily escape a situation like this, she did it before for Thor's sake, but that was before she understood the advantages of befriending dragons. The two Nadders they brought to the village just a day ago agreed to help her bring food for the villagers. Two dragons she met just a day ago agreed to help a village of _vikings_. A village of _vikings_ that used to _hunt them_. But those dragons trusted the villagers, so now the villagers trusted those dragons. Everything was in a very delicate balance. The dragons were good creatures, they just had to give them a chance. The same goes for vikings. She gave this dragon a chance, now it was his turn to give her a chance. It was his turn to trust her. She was begging all the gods in hope to make this dragon trust her, to make this dragon not to kill her. But it was in vain. The Monstrous Nightmare opened his mouth and was preparing to end her life. She could do nothing but stare at the mighty, orange creature.

'She is telling the truth. She didn't hurt any other dragons since we met her.' Toothless intervened, making the Monstrous Nightmare snap his maw shut and quickly turn his gaze from the girl to the Nightfury. He looked surprised at first, but then he said.

'You must be Waelise. You are a traitor and a killer, so, why should I believe you?'

'Look at her.' Toothless said. The Nightmare turned his glance at the girl. Heather was still looking at him with almost begging eyes, small tears slowly trailing down her face while her bottom lip was quivering. He didn't noticed at first, but now even the hand with whom she was petting his snout was slowly trembling. 'Does she look like she wants to hurt you?'

'How could she possibly hurt me in her position?' The Nightmare asked back, felling a little pity for the girl.

'She has weapons on her, you idiot. She could have stabbed your foot, but she didn't.'

'How do you know that?'

'Because I wanted to help her bring food for her village. Why do you think am I carrying this deer on me back, to keep myself warm? I spent the last eight months with a _human_. With a _human_ that _defended_ me, that _risked his life_ to bring food to me, to _protect_ me. And now this human is teaching her how to act around dragons. He is teaching an entire village to accept dragons. He wants to finally bring peace in this world.'

'So she really doesn't want to hurt us anymore?' The Monstrous Nightmare slowly muttered looking back at the girl.

"Please don't kill me. Can we be friends? Please..." Heather slowly said, trying to get a hold of herself.

'No, she doesn't.' The Nightfury said while the Nightmare released Heather from his grip and gently brought her closer in a clumsy hug. He could feel the girl starting to cry on his wing, but she also hugged the dragon back. So it couldn't be _that_ bad. He just scared her a little. Okay, maybe more than just a _little._

Toothless sat nearby and looked at the scene before him. 'Do you think she will bond with this Monstrous Nightmare?' A Zippleback's head asked.

'No.' Toothless responded as he began to walk towards the village.

'Where are you going?' The Nightmare asked noticing the other two dragons beginning to walk away.

'To the village. Don't worry, she knows the way.' Toothless answered.

'Do you really trust me with her?'

'I trust that you are not that stupid to actually hurt her. If you do anything to her, the entire village will return to kill dragons. If you will hurt her, you will doom us all.'

'Can't your human convince them to not kill dragons?'

'If you do something stupid, he won't be able to.'

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Almost an hour later, Heather finally arrived back to her house. She noticed Astrid and Hiccup sitting on the floor, near the fireplace. Astrid was sitting on Hiccup's lap, with his hand around her, holding her in a warm embrace. Hiccup's head was on Astrid's shoulder while they were both looking silently at the fire. They didn't seemed to acknowledge her presence. She looked at the table and noticed a wooden plate with two fish and a leaf of bread on it, there were also two empty wooden plates on the opposite side of the table. That meant that they made breakfast for her, again. She grabbed the plate and sat near the fireplace, at a small distance from them, not wanting to intrude but also wanting to get their attention. It worked. Astrid slowly looked from the fire at her and with a small smile greeted her.

"Hi."

"Hi." Heather responded back.

"I heard you had a very busy morning."

"You could say that. And also, thanks for the food."

"No problem." Astrid said. They all sat in silence for a few minutes, looking at the fire, until Heather asked,

"Can I ask you something?"

"About what?" Hiccup quipped.

"Dragons."

"Go ahead!"

"I think you know that I went with Toothless and the Zippleback in the forest today."

"Astrid might had mentioned something like that."

"Yes, so, I hunted a few deer and they helped me carry back to the village, but on the way back, I was pinned to a tree by a Monstrous Nightmare."

"You are still here, so I figure things ended up alright." Astrid pointed out.

"Toothless talked him out of killing me."

"The things we taught you didn't work out?"

"Not really. I started to pet his snout and he still looked like he wanted to rip my head off. But Toothless intervened and the Nightmare released me. Then he hugged me for a few minutes."

"So what would the question be, then?" Hiccup asked.

"Is there an easier, with a higher success rate, way to make a dragon not to want to rip you to pieces?"

"You already have dragon blood on your hands. The only thing I can think of that would increase your chances to befriend a dragon, is to be with a dragon when you meet the wild dragon."

"So I should first befriend a dragon in order to be able to befriend a dragon? Just, great..." Heather said, disappointment visible on her face.

"Where is the Monstrous Nightmare?"

"Outside..."

"So, you have two Deadly Nadders, a Monstrous Nightmare and Farble, and you say that you don't have any dragons to help you befriend other dragons."

"None of them really like me enough so that I can 'bond' with them."

"What about the Nightmare? You said that he hugged you after Toothless convinced him not to kill you."

"He did, but..."

"But what?" Astrid asked, noticing Heather's discomfort about this dragon.

"I-I don't like him..." Heather responded, slowly hugging her legs.

"Why?"

"He scares me, okay?!" Heather almost yelled. "I tried to be friendly, to not hurt him. I forced all my muscles to not grab the dagger and cut his fucking leg off. AND HE WANTED TO KILL ME! I started to pet his snout, to show him that I mean no harm, but he still wanted to rip my head off. I-I just wanted to live, it's only because of Toothless that I am here now. And the thing that annoys me the most, is that he understood what I was saying. He didn't look confused like the Nadders we met yesterday, he understood every fricking word I said and he still wanted to kill me!" Heather moaned before burying her head in her knees. Astrid and Hiccup looked at her for a few seconds, not really knowing how to react. Then they shared a quick glance and Astrid crawled over and kneeled by her side. Heather looked askance at the person that was near her. Heather looked tired, more like exhausted, and she looked scared. They saw her in a few situations when she looked panicked and afraid, but her current expression was a lot more grave than the previous ones. She was terrified of that dragon. She felt like she had been betrayed and backstabbed by a dragon she just met, and she wasn't fine with that. Her entire idea of dragons changed in just two days, but she was brutally brought back to reality by a certain Monstrous Nightmare, and she didn't like the reality, she preferred the world where she could be friends with dragons and not be afraid of them. But that world seemed to only exist in Hiccup's words.

"It's okay. Things like that happen. Even Toothless tried to kill Hiccup the first time they met. It's nothing too serious, not all dragons are like that." Astrid said, helping her get up.

"Some of them might not even hesitate..." Heather slowly said.

"That's not what I meant."

"Isn't it too late?"

"Too late for what?"

"To end the war. A lot of vikings already have blood on their hands and a lot of dragons are in the same situation."

"So?" Hiccup asked.

"What if the vikings won't forgive the dragons, or the dragons won't forgive the vikings?"

"There are a lot of stubborn vikings. That's what made us famous in the world. But even a stubborn viking can sometimes see when he is wrong. And for the dragons, if you treat them right, they will forgive you for anything."

"How do you know?"

"Take Toothless for example. I was the one that ripped his tailfin, I wasn't lying about that. I was the one that took away his ability to fly, but I made him a new one. It's true that he can't fly without me, but I don't think he _would_ want to fly without me anymore. We are best friends now, I trust him with my life and he trusts me with his. A dragon can forgive and so can a viking." Hiccup said at which Heather silently nodded, before slowly walking to her room.

"You should get some sleep, you look exhausted." Astrid said.

"Can you please make an announcement to not let anymore villagers to go into the forest. If one of them is hurt or killed they might blame you for it. Even if not, they will at least view you with distrust or even hate." Heather said as she entered her room. "And also, thank you, for being here, for helping us."

Astrid and Hiccup sat in silence for a few minutes, both looking at the fire. Heather was a good person, she really looked interested in dragons and how to tame them, but this recent event might change that. So far she was the only person from this village that really showed interest in taming a dragon. And she did a pretty good job so far. With their help she befriended two Deadly Nadders and possibly a Monstrous Nightmare in just two days, not to mention that in the second day she managed to organize the dragons to go fishing and help the village by carrying logs and building materials, she managed to convince seven dragons to help her in her second day of living with those creatures. Toothless and Stormfly were both very intelligent and they surely helped Heather organize the other dragons, but they were also very lazy and stubborn. But she had potential. She knew how to fight dragons, to some extent, but more importantly, she knew how to control her instincts and emotions. That's what made her good at befriending them, she could ignore her previous encounters with those creatures, she could ignore the fact that she killed four dragons and that she lost her parents in a dragon raid. She wanted peace more than she wanted revenge. But the recent event might change all that. They needed to make sure that she wasn't afraid of wild dragons, and even if she was, they needed to do their best to help her get past her new fear of those creatures.

"What are you going to say?" Astrid asked, breaking the silence. Hiccup looked a little confused at her to the point where Astrid felt like she needed to add. "What are you going to say to the village, about the forest? You are going to warn them, right?"

"Yes, that would be the best course of action." Hiccup said, still lost in thought. "We could tell them that we don't want them to go in the forest until we brought enough dragons to help them with their daily routine in the village. Or until everyone had the basic instructions on how to act around a wild dragon. Or even to not go in the forest unaccompanied by a dragon."

"Any of those ideas should work."

"Yes, but there are also those stubborn vikings that will ignore us because _we_ are not like _them_, because we are not _real vikings_. Those are the ones that are worrying me."

"They didn't try to kill us, so I don't think they will just ignore the elder's order."

"That is if we can convince him."

"Why wouldn't we be able to convince him?"

"Winter is coming. They need to storage food and they also need furs and pelts, not to mention firewood. If we will forbid them to go and procure what they need for winter, we might need to procure it for them."

"We only have five trained dragons, the other four can be unreliable or they could even cause problems. We can't possibly get enough food and wood for almost fifty vikings."

"I know..."

"Then what will we do?" Astrid asked a little worried.

"We can send Stormfly to gather the other dragons from Heim."

"But she will get there in a day of flying. She could get hurt, she could get attacked by vikings or pirates, or even dragons. I don't like that Hiccup! Not. One. Bit."

"Then what you suggest we do?" Hiccup asked back a little frustrated.

"Why don't you send Skuller, or Nubs, or even the Zippleback?"

"They are slow and I trust Stormfly more, a lot more. She can make it to our island in less than ten hours, we had to fly here with the Gronckle brothers, that's why it took us so much. And Stormfly is a clever dragon, I don't think she would let a few vikings or dragons hurt her, not to mention that she is the second in command to this stupid hierarchy that Toothless created."

"But I don't want Stormfly to get hurt..." Astrid muttered in defeat.

"She will be alright. Tomorrow by noon she should be back." Hiccup said walking near Astrid to calm her down a little.

"If something happens to her..."

"I would never suggest to send Stormfly if I didn't have complete faith in her. And she is the best for the job. Stormfly is not as reckless at Toothless and she can blend with the clouds because of her blue scales."

"I still don't like this..." Astrid said as they both walked outside to give the Nadder her new mission. Just as usual the dragons were sleeping in the sun. Even after all this time the two dragon riders couldn't understand how those creatures were able to sleep _so _much. If it weren't for food those dragons could sleep an entire day.

"Stormfly, are you awake?" Astrid asked, approaching her dragon. But the blue Deadly Nadder just buried her head deeper on her wing. "C'mon, we have an important job for you."

'Can't it wait?'

"No."

'What is it...' Stormfly asked annoyed, slowly getting up.

"We need you to go back to Heim and bring the dragon here." Hiccup said.

'Why?'

"I think you know that happened between our new friend and Heather." Astrid said pointing at the Monstrous Nightmare sleeping nearby.

'Yes, so?'

"We will forbid the villagers to go into the forest until we manage to bring enough dragons from there to the village."

'Why?'

"Heather knows some stuff about dragons, things that we taught her, but the others don't, so in order to make sure no one gets hurt or even killed, everything that involves the forest will be banned."

'And I have to fly back to Heim because...?'

"Because we need more dragons in order to bring food, wood and fur from the animals that live in the forest."

'Why?'

"Because winter is getting closer and those vikings need to storage food and firewood." He exasperated. It was like talking to a stubborn child.

'Fine...' Stormfly said slowly preparing to fly, but Astrid quickly stopped her.

"Take care. Don't fight with dragons or vikings. Just go to Heim and come back with dragons."

'You really feel like you need to say this?' Toothless asked, joining the conversation.

"Just shut up!" Astrid shot back before Stormfly carefully nudged her, showing that she's happy that Astrid is worried about her. Then she took off while Astrid, Hiccup and the other dragons were watching her becoming a small point in the distance.

"Now to talk to the village elder..."

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**

**And from now on, I will update once a week, to be a little more organized.**


	19. Struggle

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story and the extra work she put in this chapter. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

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Astrid and Hiccup quickly found the villages elder, sitting on a small bench near a big house, maybe his home. He was looking absently at the sea, not paying any attention to them as they approached.

"Please excuse us, but can we have a word with you?" Hiccup said, drawing his focus towards them.

The elder snapped out of his daydreaming and looked a little surprised at the two dragon riders, before he said. "Anything that might help."

"I have a request to make, and before you answer, I want to explain every detail about it."

The elder looked somewhat confused at him, but after a few moments of thinking he nodded, allowing Fáfnir to continue.

"I want you to ban the access for everyone in the forest for at least a week." The elder's eyes grew wider as Hiccup said that, but he didn't interrupt, "My main reason behind this is the presence of a great number of wild dragons in the forest and I wouldn't want any villagers to be hurt, or even killed by those dragons. So far I haven't been able to instruct everyone on how to act around wild dragons and I am afraid that most of the villagers still view dragons as violent beasts. I also know that you need to gather supplies for the approaching winter, so I took the liberty to send one of the dragons we brought with us, to bring the rest of our dragons back here, to help us gather food and wood for your village, since I also wouldn't like for you to starve or freeze to death. If everything goes according to plan, we should be able to start hunting and bringing firewood back to the village in two days, at most. So please consider my words." Hiccup finished.

The elder looked slightly worried and distrustful at Hiccup. "How can I be sure that you won't try to take the village by force when you bring your dragons here?"

"Now why would I do that? If I wanted to conquer this village, why would I wait for so long?"

"Because you wanted to investigate our defenses, you wanted to know where the most important buildings are. Because you wanted to backstab us when we were least expecting." The elder snapped, getting up from the bench and approaching Hiccup.

"No, no, no, no, no." Hiccup said fluttering his hands in front of him. "I would never be able to get your support that way."

"You don't want our support, you want our island! That's the only reason you came here! You want to storage your pitiful dragons here, but you are too scared and pathetic to try and attack us directly. You must ambush us like the coward you are!" That struck a chord. Hiccup lowered his hands so that they were now casually standing by his side, he slowly approached the elder, giving him a dead look, until they were just inches apart.

"You underestimate my power. Do you really think that your village is the only one on a big island? Do you think that I need a _village_ in the first place, to take care of my dragons? Why would I want to attack a small village like this, seriously now? Give me one good reason why should I want to _attack_ a village with fifty vikings? To force them take care of _my dragons_? To try and turn them into _slaves_? I couldn't care less about your defense and your supplies. I alone have more than fifty dragons, and you think that you even stand a chance against me?" Hiccup asked before faking a short and unimpressed laugh, "All I ever wanted was to help, to be accepted. Even now that people are begging for my help, they still view me with distrust and hate, like I have some kind of terrible disease and they are afraid of getting infected. What in the nine realms had I ever done to you? We met two days ago and so far, thanks to me, there are four new dragons that helped you fishing and carrying logs, and you still think I am a _pathetic runt_. You vikings are unbelievable! So far, almost every single viking I have met, was a stubborn, fat and all-knowing imbecile. None of you people are even worth the effort." Hiccup said as he turned around and started to walk away. He was getting sick of this. He almost forgot how it was to be a disappointment, but before he could continue with his line of thoughts, someone grabbed him by his shoulder, making him turn around. It was the village's elder.

"You have my approval of the ban." The elder promptly said, having a serious look on his face.

"Thank you." Hiccup replied, a little surprised. They looked at each other for a few seconds until the elder released him and started to walk away. Hiccup also turned and walked away, followed closely behind by Astrid. After they were at a decent distance from the previous scene of conflict, Astrid grabbed Hiccup's wrist and began to drag him towards the forest. "What are you..." Hiccup began to ask, but he was quickly silenced by Astrid.

"Shut up!" They walked in silence, more like Astrid dragged Hiccup in silence for a few minutes, until she was sure that they were far enough from the village so that they wouldn't be heard. "What the heck was that?!" She almost yelled, punching his arm.

"What?!" He asked back in surprise, slowly pulling away from her.

"Back at the village, with the elder, you just— burst out back there! What the heck were you thinking, threatening him?! And don't you dare walk away from me!" Astrid said, noticing as Hiccup was preparing to get in a running position. He took her last sentence as a signal to start running. In truth, he was not faster than Astrid, but it was worth a shot. Maybe he could hide somewhere if she lost him from sight for a split second, he knew that an angry Astrid, was a dangerous Astrid. And the best thing to do with a dangerous Astrid is to run away and give her time to calm down, and maybe, just maybe, she would forget and she wouldn't maim him later when he returned.

But unluckily for him, Astrid saw his intentions and tackled him down after he took just one step. Now Hiccup was on the ground, face buried in the soft grass and with his left hand in a painful position behind his back. "Ouch! Okay, fine! Just get off me!" Hiccup said trying to move, but not being able under Astrid painful grip. After Hiccup stopped struggling, Astrid twisted his wrist just a little more, to make sure he knew that she was serious and she wouldn't threat him so 'lightly' if he tried something like that again, and then she released him. Hiccup quickly got up, massaging his wrist to try and ease the pain while giving Astrid an annoyed look.

"Now, why did you threaten the village's elder?" Astrid asked him, visibly annoyed by the situation.

"Does it really matter?" Hiccup muttered back, slightly turning his head so he wouldn't face her.

"Yes, it does! I would really want to know why you want fifty vikings hunting us, thank you very much!"

"When he called me _pathetic_ and _scared_, it reminded me of how I felt on Berk so many times before..." Hiccup said, his voice getting sadder and softer with each word. But as he said that, Astrid's face quickly fell, 'Not _Berk_ again...' she instantly thought. In the time they spent together, she asked him to tell her about how he felt on Berk, about how Snotlout used to bully him and how the other ignored him and insulted him, to try and understand his suffering, but she always felt guilty for everything that happened back then. If she just helped him, then maybe things could have turned out different, very different. So every time he remembered something painful about their village, she couldn't help but blame herself for that. "And I just— _had_ to do something. I felt like I finally had the power to stand up for myself, that I was finally able to stand my ground, to defend my honor. I know it was reckless, but I guess my new found 'self esteem' ruined the old Hiccup..." The boy said as Astrid approached him and brought him in a tight hug.

"Sorry I brought that up. You are brave and you are certainly not pathetic. And I am actually proud that you stood your ground. You certainly changed a lot, but a quality a great leader must also have is humility. Don't let your 'new found self esteem' ruin your old self, you are better than this. I know you are."

"Thanks, Astrid." He said hugging her back. "I really needed that."

"That's what I'm here for, changing things for the best." Astrid responded, getting a small laugh out of Hiccup.

They stood there in silence for a few minutes, just holding each other, grateful that they had the support of the other person. But Hiccup broke the silence, saying. "I don't know what I would've done without you..."

"You'd probably would have died when you decided to come to Berk and the whole village would've been happy and celebrating, only I would've been sad and crying 'cause I never managed to say that I love you." Astrid spat out rather quickly, trying to make a joke. But Hiccup slowly broke their hug and stared at her with shocked eyes. "What?" Astrid asked confused by his action.

"Y-You love me?" Hiccup asked, stammering, as Astrid's eyes grew wider, just realizing what she just said. She was not supposed to say that. It was still too soon for her liking. They only really started to know each other five months ago, but in that time, they were almost exclusively with each other. And she also kind of liked him years before. Maybe 'liked' too big a word, but she found him cute, and weird, but in a good way. So her feelings for him weren't wrong. Right? She slightly shook her head, trying to throw away all those thoughts, trying to form an answer, but she couldn't find any words to properly explain herself, managing to stutter, just to make some incoherent noises . Damn it! She never stuttered. After almost a minute, she finally gave up trying to explain herself and accepted the situation. Well, she managed to screw up their relationship by rushing things up. He couldn't possibly feel the same way. Not after ignoring him for almost fifteen years. She really hated herself right now. The mighty Astrid Hofferson falling for a walking fishbone. 'A walking fishbone who managed to befriend a Nightfury and showed her that dragons aren't enemies' , she quickly added. Then she sighed. She was being silly. He accepted her on his island, even after she told him that she has to kill him, he trusted her. That had to mean that he liked her then, and those feelings couldn't disappear, right? Oh, who was she kidding? He couldn't possibly feel the same way, maybe he likes her, but not _loves_ her, and now things will be awkward between them because she was stupid and didn't think before talking. Well, it was fun while it lasted. At least she will never lose the memories they shared. So in the end, she adopted a slightly disappointed face, looking on the ground, not wanting to meet his eyes, afraid that he might ridiculize her after this and hesitantly said.

"Y-Yes...I-I love you..."

She was quickly pulled by Hiccup closer to him and slightly hit in the face by his helmet. She covered her now pained mouth, backing a few steps and looked shocked at him.

"Sorry..." Hiccup muttered tossing his helmet on the ground and looking apologetic at Astrid. She was still looking confused at him until he raised his hands, trying to make her come back into his arms. Astrid's eyes grew wider at the realization and pushed him, almost making Hiccup fall.

"You are such a...DORK!" She yelled starting to playfully punch him. "Only you could have managed to ruin such a moment! You really scared me!" They were both laughing as Hiccup tried to defend himself.

"Did I now?!" He asked back, slightly amused. Hiccup managed to _scare_ Fearless Astrid Hofferson. This was certainly a day to remember. He was slowly backing away from her until he tripped over his helmet, that he tossed on the ground a few moments earlier. In a few short seconds, he was lying on his back with Astrid on top of him. They were still laughing from the previous incident, but their current position was way more, intimate. Not long after, they were once again enchanted by each other's eyes, slowly getting lost in a personal display of affection. They laid there for what seemed like hours enjoying each other's warm embrace. Forgetting about the world around them. During those magical moments everything seemed peaceful and perfect.

But they were brutally brought back to reality as Astrid was violently jerked from Hiccup's arms. The boy quickly opened his eyes at the sudden and violent action and tried to look around. As he was trying to focalize, to find Astrid, he felt a terrible pain in his right shoulder, tearing his skin and flesh. The adrenaline quickly kicked in, triggering the fight or flight response, making him focus on his surroundings, quickly analyzing the situation. Time slowed down as he identified three persons beside him and Astrid. The first person he noticed, was a man standing beside him, holding a sword, stabbing his shoulder, he then turned his head to look at the person that was holding Astrid by the hair in a painful grip and the last man took advantage of Astrid's weak position and punched her in the stomach. Hiccup made a note to self to give that person a slow and painful death. As Astrid released another small cry, Hiccup tried to force himself to get up, but the man near him kicked him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He looked at Hiccup with a smirk before spitting on him.

"You're pathetic, aren't you?" He taunted him. Hiccup grabbed the sword, trying to pull it out of his shoulder to the point where his palm started to bleed from the strength of his grip, but failing to free himself. Until he hear another yelp from Astrid. That's when he got really mad. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt Astrid. So in a desperate act, he punched the spine of the sword, breaking the weapon. Then with a quick action and a yell of pain, he pulled the blade from his shoulder and stabbed the person near him in the leg, making him fall to the ground in agony. Then Hiccup slowly got up, trying to control his breathing, trying to calm himself down a little, to be able to concentrate on the current situation. But the bulky man quickly noticed him and threw Astrid at a nearby three, making her release a weak cry of pain, before charging at Hiccup. The boy was still dazed by the previous outburst of pain from his wound and didn't have time to react as he was tackled to the ground by the sturdy man. The older man started to choke him, wanting to finish his job quickly.

Hiccup's vision slowly began to fade. Even a simple action as looking at the man in front of him, became difficult. He struggled at first, he tried to fight back, but soon he started to give up, he started to lose hope. Then he heard another cry. He tried to focus, to concentrate on the sound, it was a lot harder than it seemed, his neck was starting to hurt, his lungs desperately trying to expand and decrease their inside pressure, but it was in vain. He couldn't do anything. He failed, again. He failed again to protect Astrid. He slowly closed his eyes, accepting his fate, accepting his failure, accepting the idea of being a pathetic runt that created couldn't do anything right.

He slowly began to drift into a silent sea. A peaceful place where he could hide from the world, where he could hide from all his humiliations and failures. All he wanted to do now was to relax, to surrender to the calm and serene darkness, to just give up. But there was a persistent noise, similar to a distant yell, slowly strangling his mind, perturbing his silent sea. It was impossible to ignore. He wanted to investigate and help the person that made that cry, but what could he do about it? He was useless. He couldn't even protect what he loved the most. He cursed all the gods for denying him a peaceful and quiet passing and tried to focus on the noise. If it didn't want to leave him alone, why not try to make sense out of it?

'Hic-cup.'

A final insult at his address before passing away. The gods surely had a sick sense of humor. But the voice felt weirdly familiar. Soft. Depressed. Strong. Encouraging. Desperate?

'Hiccup.'

From all the possible words, why 'hiccup' ? What kind of joke was this? If Loki wanted to play tricks on him, at least he could try to make sense. 'Hiccup.' A simple word, not really making any sense alone, said like that and accompanied by a familiar voice. What trickery was this? He wished that Hel would just intervene and grab him, stopping Loki's sick game and just throw him in Helheim for his pathetic life. Whoever this voice was, that person was growing desperate and hurt. The voice sounded almost like a hurt Astrid.

ASTRID!

What happened to her? She was hurt before this happened! He needed to find her! He needed to help her! He gathered all his remaining forces to try and escape this void, this emptiness. The gods will have to wait a little longer for him, he had other business to attend to.

Hiccup snapped his eyes open and remember everything that happened in the past few seconds. How he injured a man and how he was quickly tackled after that. He desperately began to search for a solid object near him, to use as a weapon. He managed to find his helmet not too far from him, he grabbed the side of the helmet with his left arm, holding it in a strong grip, gathering all his strength for one powerful hit. With a violent action, the helmet made contact with the men's head, knocking him off Hiccup. After that, the dragon rider took a few deeps breaths, slowly getting up on his legs, trying once again to concentrate on his surroundings, slowly recovering from his dizziness. He grabbed his dagger, that was sheathed on his waist and waited for the bulky man to get up. The older man clumsily managed to stand up, holding his head with his right hand, visibly hurt and groggy, blood dripping from his hand and on his face. The man looked angry at Hiccup before grabbing a hatchet from his waist and charging at dragon rider once again. This time Hiccup was prepared for the confrontation and focused at his opponent. He parried his attack and stood his ground, hitting the man in the chest with his shoulder, using his momentum against him.

The sound of a small crack was heard and his opponent crumbled to the ground, coughing and trying to gain his breath after the impact. Hiccup approached him and stomped him on the chest, wanting to make sure that this man won't interrupt his fight with his final opponent. Then the dragon rider turned and charged at the last enemy, the one that dared to punch Astrid before. As the last man saw Hiccup charging at him, he delivered a last, strong kick at Astrid's side, making her release a cry of pain and instinctively curling in on herself, trying to protect herself from further pain. He grabbed his sword and slowly turned to face Hiccup with a smirk on his face. This was going to be an easy fight, his opponent was young and already injured, it shouldn't be a chalange. But the young dragon rider was a lot faster than he initially thought and by the time he turned to face him, Hiccup was only inches away from him, already with the blade buried deep in his chest.

Hiccup watched as his opponent fall to the ground, before kneeling near Astrid, slightly raising her so that he could hold her. "Tell me you're okay! Astrid please!"

"Not really..." Astrid slowly said, almost in a whisper.

"It's all my fault..." Hiccup muttered, holding her tighter.

"You are lucky that I can't really stand up, because—," she flinched, "otherwise I would beat the shit out of you for saying that..." Astrid threatened. She looked at Hiccup's serious and worried face, before she said. "Did you kill the other two?"

"No..."

"Can you ask who sent them and kill them, it will be safer for us." Astrid said and Hiccup still looked worried at her, but in the end he carefully laid her back on the grass and stood up. Astrid was looking at the sky, trying to ignore the pain in her chest every time she breathed. She heard a few words quickly followed by a yelp, but she couldn't the small conversation. After another few seconds, the remaining person started to beg for his life, but soon, there was only silence, and footsteps. Footsteps approaching her. She tried to stay calm, even though she knew that the person approaching her was Hiccup, she still felt slightly panicked.

"Do you think you can resist while I carry you to the village?" Hiccup asked, kneeling near her.

"I think so, but can you please be gentle, my chest is killing me..."

"I'll do my best." Hiccup said slowly lifting her from the ground, carrying her bridal style. He was slowly walking towards the village, trying his best not to do any sudden movements that could create discomfort or hurt Astrid. They walked in silence, neither of them really having the strength to carry a simple conversation at that point. And what were they supposed to talk about, anyway? So far this was their worst encounter with bounty hunters. It was the first time when they were injured in a fight by somebody else, by an enemy. Sometimes they managed to hurt themselves pretty bad when training, but they were never injured _this _bad before. Hiccup's wounds weren't that serious, worst case, his wound would get infected, but even that was a long shot. But for Astrid there was a completely different story. They both knew that she had at least a few broken ribs and if she was lucky, that was about it. But if only one of those ribs punctured her lungs, she would have a slow and agonizing death. Hiccup prayed to all the gods he knew, hoping that that was not the case. But they could do nothing to know if that's the situation, they needed a healer. Astrid needed a healer.

Still, his own body was weak with exhaustion, the adrenaline was finally leaving, not hiding the pain from his injury anymore. The blood from his arm seeped through his clothes and onto her leggings. His injured arm shook with the weight as he swayed. He stopped and leaned back against a tree. "I can't…" He murmured.

Hiccup carefully listened to Astrid's short and irregular breaths, wanting to make sure that nothing else happened to her, wanting to make sure that she would be alright. He slowly turned his head and looked at her face. She would grimace sometimes when she breathed, making her to quickly inhale. He hoped she fell asleep, or that maybe she fainted, so she wouldn't have to endure the pain. As he looked at her, Hiccup couldn't stop but blame himself for his inability to defend her, to protect her from harm. Cuyler was right, he couldn't protect her. He was still the useless runt he always was. Everywhere he went, disaster would follow. He just wanted to escape his old self and be a able to protect the ones he loved. Was that so much to ask?

"W-what are you thinking about?" Astrid softly asked, her voice just about a whisper.

"N-Nothing. Don't worry about it." He answered. Her eyes were still closed as she tried her best to mask the pain on her face, but doing a terrible job.

"Hiccup please..." Astrid pleaded with a weak voice.

"It's my fault..."

"NO!" Astrid said a little too sudden, causing a sharp pain in her chest, silencing her for a few seconds. "I dragged you here...I was on top of you..." She said with a small smile, trying to comfort him.

"I dragged you to this island..."

"This might be our last conversation..."

"Don't say that. Please!" Hiccup said, tears trailing down his cheeks. Whether they were from the pain of his injuries or the pain of her impending loss, he was unsure. "Y-You will survive. We _will_ pull through together. Please Astrid!"

"We both know that my left lung is punctured, " she winced again and tried to talk softer, if that was even possible, "…and I will live for two days more, if the gods like me enough."

"You won't die! Astrid, you, won't..." Hiccup said, his back sliding down the tree and his voice getting weaker.

"I had a great time with you, Hiccup Horren— H-Horrendous Haddock the Third…also known as Fáfnir." Astrid spoke affectionately, slowly leaning into his shoulder.

"Don't do this, please..." He cupped her head, his cheek pressing against her hair.

"Don't forget me..."

"I fought for you." Hiccup quickly said, bringing a small smile on Astrid's face.

"I know you did. If you didn't killed them, maybe now I would be dead, or tortured, or raped. And I thank you— f-for allowing me to die in your arms."

"That's not what I meant." Hiccup said, making Astrid slightly open her eyes to look at him. "When that guy was strangling me, I-I wanted to give up, to let everything go, to just, give up. But then I heard your—, " his sob interrupted his sentence, "your voice, calling me, and I remembered that if I gave up then, you would end up suffering. And now, I ask you— n-no, I _beg_ you, Astrid, please don't give up. I promise that I will try everything in my power to help you, to not let y-you...die."

Astrid's eyes were beginning to release small tears. She brought herself closer to him, burying her face on his neck. "But it hurts..." She struggled to say, her breathing shallow.

"I can't make it without you. I don't want to make it without you." Hiccup begged again, kissing behind her ear.

Astrid slowly pulled away from him, so that they could look at each other's eyes. They were both filled with pain, sadness, worry, and fear. In those kind of situations the one that was less effected would try to help the other, but now, now they were both ravaged. They needed someone to help them. For the first time since they became a team, they really needed the help of another person. After a few moments of silence, Astrid said, making a forced chuckle between the sobs and cries of pain. "Get up and move you idiot! We still need to get back to the village."

Hiccup smiled at her, happy to hear that she hadn't given up. He slowly and carefully got back up, trying not to make any sudden and unnecessary movement to hurt Astrid. He ignored the stabbing pain in his shoulder and continued to carry Astrid back to the village in silence. The only sound either of them made was a sob or an occasional yelp from Astrid.

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**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	20. Crow

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story and the extra work she put in this chapter. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your suggestions.**

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They slowly made their way towards the village, both hurt and exhausted. Astrid cuddled closer into Hiccup's arms, asking him to hide her from pain. But Hiccup couldn't do anything to ease her suffering, so he just held her tighter, hoping that his presence would somehow be enough to calm her pain. Even though Hiccup tried to look calm and ignore his injuries, it was getting harder the more they walked. Every heartbeat sent a stabbing pain through his shoulder, blood slowly pouring out of it. His almost crushed neck hurt everytime he breathed, he was sure that now it looked brussed. His palms were starting to sting, thankfuly to the new layer of sweat. What was he thinking to grab the blade like that? He was grateful he didn't felt any serious pain elsewhere and since none of his wounds was too serious in the short therm, he could take care of Astrid. He was almost lost in thoughts, glancing at Astrid from time to time to make sure she was alright in the given circumstances, but soon the village was in sight. Hiccup released a small chuckle, making Astrid to look confused at him.

"We are nearly there." Hiccup said somewhat excited, like he reached a goal that could change their situation entirely. And he wasn't wrong about that.

"Can you still go?" Astrid murmured, looking worried at him. She knew his shoulder was injured and that it hurt horribly to have to carry her, so the least she could do is to make sure she isn't too much of a burden. If she survived this, he would need to take care of her for at least a few weeks, again.

"Yes. Let's hurry and find you a healer." Hiccup said quickening his pace, eager to reach the village, but he slowed down and mentally cursed himself after Astrid released a yelp of pain.

"Sorry..."

"Hiccup?" Astrid murmured again, her breathing becoming more irregular.

"Are you alright?" He asked worried, looking at her

"Can we take a break? Please?" Astrid asked and Hiccup kneeled near a tree, gently resting her at the base of it. "Thanks."

"How are you holding on?" Hiccup asked worried, looking at Astrid trying to take a few deep breaths, to calm herself, but she only managing to make the pain worse.

"I can't breathe normally..." She said in frustration, drawing a few quick, small breaths.

"I tend to have this effect on girls." Hiccup said, trying to distract her from her real situation.

"Remember me to punch you later for that." Astrid responded with a small smile, slowly leaning her head on the trunk.

"And when should I remind you that, milady?"

"You're an idiot."

"And you love me for that." Hiccup said sitting near her, gently grabbing her hand. She slowly turned her head to look at him and smiled tenderly, but she was quickly brought back to reality by another outburst of pain, forcing her to release a small cry. "When you are ready, we can go to the village."

"Just a few seconds..." She said, leaning her head against the tree again. She tried to slowly inhale, to test the maximum amount of air she could breathe in before the stabbing pain appeared. It wasn't too much, but she mentally noted the amount for future need. She took a few depth breaths, not exceeding the amount of air noted before, to try and focus on her current situation. So, if she survives, then Hiccup would have to take care of her for at least a few weeks, that would result on being a burden once again, but this time her father was there to help them, so that meant Hiccup could focus on dragon training and organizing this village to work with Jàrnstarfa, but then she would also have to train to regain her previous physical condition, that meant another few months of frustration and anger. She unintentionally growled at the thought, getting Hiccup's attention.

"What's wrong?" He asked looking confused at her.

"After I recover I'll have to train again to be able to have a decent fight with you..."

"I'll help."

"How?"

"I won't let you get any rest until you are strong enough to defeat me again." He said, getting a small chuckle from Astrid. They both looked at each other, and for a split second, Astrid could read the fear from Hiccup's eyes. He was worried for her. He was afraid of the possibility of losing her. He was trying to look brave to comfort her, but in truth, he was terrified. But Astrid wasn't afraid of dying, she was more afraid of how _Hiccup_ would react to her death. His feelings for her might not be as strong as her feelings for him, but either way, he wouldn't take her death lightly, that was certain. And her death would be a warrior's death, she would die because of the wounds from a fight. Not a particularly honorable or spectacular fight, like she would've expected and wanted, but a fight nonetheless. At least she wouldn't die of old age or sickness like any other viking woman would do at some point.

In her life, she always tried to follow traditions and be the best viking possible, even if she betrayed their way, by befriending dragons, she was still a brave warrior and a fierce opponent, and she never fully abandoned her viking heritage. She would still pray to the gods and make an animal sacrifice when needed, so she would still be accepted in Odin's palace, or at least in Fólkvangr, at least she hoped. She never did anything to betray the gods except befriending dragons and that stood against everything their traditions said, but it was only _one _thing. In truth, she was more worried for Hiccup. The boy was a nonconformist. He was never a very pious person, he didn't really follow traditions, except the most important ones, he never made any animal sacrifices, but Astrid still brought him with her, in hope that his presence would somehow count, he even ignored most viking holidays. But most of those things could be ignored and forgoten by the gods if he was an honorable and brave warrior, but, Hiccupe always tried to chose the peaceful, less violent way, damn, he wasn't even a _real_ warrior until a few months ago, after she trained him. So Odin might not want him in Valhalla, that means they might never meet again if she died now. And that is what _really_ scared her. The thought of not being with Hiccup until Ragnarök, whenever that might be, terrified her.

"Hiccup...?" Astrid slowly murmured.

"Yes?"

"Do you really think that we can pull through this?"

"I know we will."

"I don't know any person to survive this kind of injury..." She said leaning her head on his shoulder.

"You are not just 'any' kind of person. You are Astrid Hofferson." Hiccup said leaning his head on hers.

"So?"

"You are the second person to ride a dragon. You are the first person to befriend and fly a Deadly Nadder. You are the person that managed to turn a talking fishbone into a fighter, and a pretty good one if I might add. So you're not just 'any' person."

"None of those things really increase my chances of survival..."

"My point is that you managed to do a lot of things that no one else was able to, so I believe that you will be able to survive this." Hiccup said, kissing her forehead.

"Hiccup...I'm afraid..."

"Don't be, everything will be alright." Hiccup said, bringing her in a tight hug, before remembering her injury and easing his embrace.

"How do you feel?" Astrid asked after a small pause. ''How is your shoulder?"

"You want me to be honest?"

"Yes."

"Could be better."

''How are your palms?" Astrid asked, gently opening the hand she was holding, to examine the wound.

''That, could also be better..." Hiccup said, visibly hurt by her action.

''Sorry." Astrid said. After she looked at his oppen palm for a few seconds, she sighed. She slowly unwrapped the cloth from her forearm. Quickly measuring it and tearing it in two almost equal parts. ''Hold still!" She demanded, opening his left palm.

"What are you doing?" Hiccup asked as Astrid slowly began to wrap a piece of teared cloth over his cut.

"Its only temporary. Remember to ask the healer to apply some salve and change it after we get there."

"Thanks."

"Now give me your other hand." Astrid said, gently wrapping the other cut. After she finished, she gently grabbed both his hands and kissed his hands, over the bandages. "Better?" She asked after that, with a small smile.

"Better." Hiccup responded, bringing her in a hug.

"Hiccup, are you afraid?" Astrid asked after a few moments.

"Yes." He answered without any hesitation, still holding her.

"Why are you scared?"

"I'm afraid of losing you."

Astrid smiled a little at his answer. She cuddled into his embrace, forgetting about their current

situation for a few seconds, until the cry of a crow made them both look around them surprised, until their eyes landed on a bird that sat nearby, on a stump, looking at them.

"Shit! That scared me..." Astrid said rather quick;y. "Can we go to the village now?"

"Don't tell me that the mighty Astrid Hofferson is afraid of a small crow." Hiccup asked, getting up.

"I'm not! And that's a raven, actually."

"As you say, milady." Hiccup responded, gently lifting her. "Are you comfortable?"

"It will take only a few more minutes to get to the village, so it doesn't really matter." Astrid said as Hiccup began to walk towards the village. They were walking in silence, almost leaving the forest, when another raven's cry drew Astrid's attention. She looked back, over Hiccup's shoulder, on the path they came from and there was another raven looking at them from a tree. "I don't like this..." Astrid muttered, making Hiccup look confused at her.

"What's the matter?"

"That raven is following us." Hiccup turned his head to look at the bird Astrid was talking about.

"This is a little..." Hiccup began to say but was interrupted by another crow, coming from in front of them. They both turned their heads and looked at the other raven, sitting on a log, looking at them. "Creepy." Hiccup stopped walking and looked worried, maybe even a little scared at the bird, before quickly glancing at Astrid.

"What are you waiting for?! Go!" Astrid said rather quickly, ignoring the pain when she almost yelled that. Hiccup kept a decent distance from the raven and walked past it. Soon they were out of the forest. As Hiccup arrived at a somewhat safe distance, he turned around and looked at the two ravens, sitting on two different trees and staring at them, releasing a crow from time to time, followed by a pair of growls that were coming from the forest, making the two teens look worried and confused in that direction. But after almost a minute, nothing seemed to peer out of the forest. Nothing happened.

"That was weird." Hiccup said, finally resuming his walk towards the village.

"I don't like this...What if this is an omen?" Astrid asked, a few moments later.

"Nonsense."

"How do you know?"

"The ravens didn't cross our path, so no one is going to war. None of them tried to attack us, so they aren't predicting our deaths, and neither of them are still following us, so nothing bad will happen."

"But we are both injured. Both of us could die. And they followed us until we left the forest. That's enough time for something bad to happen."

"Astrid, it almost seems that you _want_ something bad to happen."

"I'm just worried." She murmured.

"Everything will be fine." Hiccup said, trying to comfort her as they reached the village.

Most of the villagers stopped their activities and looked shocked at them. Hiccup couldn't stop but worry at their current situation. They were both hurt and unable to fight back in case of something. They only had four dragons that could really help them, the other being too 'freshly' recruited in their ranks to have some sort of devotement. Now was the best time for the villagers to betray them. Now when they are both weak and vulnerable.

"You don't have your mask." Astrid quietly pointed out at which Hiccup silently nodded, looking slightly paranoid at a group of vikings approaching them. The elder with whom they talked earlier was distinguishing himself from the rest of the group by walking forward. He looked surprised at them, maybe even a little worried.

"What happened?" The elder asked, making Hiccup stop at a few meters in front of him, still holding Astrid.

"We were attacked."

"By who?"

"Bounty hunters." Hiccup said, drawing a few surprised gasp from some vikings.

"Bounty hunters?! Why would bounty hunters attack this island?!"

"They didn't attacked your island. They were here for us. They wanted to kill us. I'm sure you know of the bounty on our heads."

"We know nothing of such thing. Ever since our trader died, we had been almost cut out from the world. The only vikings that dared to come here were lords, trying to prove themselves or to seek entertainment, hunting the wild animals or dragons that live in this forest."

"Oh..." Hiccup said, his eyes growing wider, looking almost panicked at the man. How could be possible not to know about the bounty? They knew about him, and even managed to find him without knowing about the price on his head? That was rather hard to believe. Either way, they know now. Their situation just got a lot worse in just a few seconds.

"Why did you have to bring up the bounty?" Astrid said through her teeth.

"Why is there a bounty on your name?" A villager yelled, making a few other also yell.

"Because...Uhm...We..." Hiccup began to stutter.

"We are dragon riders." Astrid quickly interjected. "That enough of a reason to be hated by vikings."

"Grab them!" A sturdy man yelled, getting a few other shouts of approval. About ten vikings started to approach them and Hiccup couldn't do anything but hold Astrid tighter, in a desperate action to protect her.

"SILENCE!" The village's elder roared, stopping the advance of the vikings. "You will do no such thing! These two are our guests. We already didn't have much to offer to them and now we failed to protect them, while they were in our home. The least we can do is to help them now, with their injuries. Help them to the healer's hut and someone go find the healer's apprentice." The elder finished, starting to walk away from the scene. Both Astrid and Hiccup were looking shocked at the elder as he walked away. _He just saved their lives. Why?_ He just had the chance to exchange them for pure gold and he let it drop.

They were brought out of their daze as vikings approached them, offering to help Hiccup carry Astrid, but he refused to let her go. They were slowly lead to a small building, leather hides covering its windows. A villager opened the door, helping them walk inside. The two teens both looked surprised at all the bottles and jars on the shelves. Different plants were hanging down the ceiling. Three simple beds were in this room, one near the door and the other two at each side of the window to the far side. There were also two tables in this room, both covered with books and bowls and different ingredients. And finally in the middle of the main room, there was a fireplace with a cauldron on top of it, boiling and releasing weird smelling smoke. Hiccup gently helped Astrid to sit on a bed near the window and then he started to look curiously around the room.

"This reminds me of Gothi's hut." Astrid pointed out.

"Well, she was a healer and this is supposed to be the healer's hut. So I think they should look similar."

"You don't say!"

"Sorry for being able to talk." Hiccup sarcastically responded, approaching Astrid again. They both sat there for a few more moments until an old lady appeared from another room, looking confused at them.

"Neither of you is my apprentice." The lady said, walking over to the cauldron to inspect its composition.

"It doesn't seems so." Hiccup said, looking confused at her.

"Are you Fáfnir?"

"Yes."

"You can go." The healer said, making both Astrid and Hiccup look confused at her.

"Go where?"

"Outside."

"But we just got here..."

"And now you can leave."

"Aren't you going to help us?" Astrid asked.

"I have no business with any dragon lover. Now you can sit there and die from your injuries, or you can crawl in a hole and die there, to save us the effort of burying you. I honestly don't care."

"B-But you can't do this!" Hiccup almost yelled. "H-Help her at least!"

"Does she have a dragon?"

"Yes." Astrid promptly said.

"Then I won't have any business with you."

"B-But you called us here to help you with your dragon problem." Hiccup said.

"I didn't do such thing. Not everyone agreed with such a turbulent mind."

"Who's idea was it to summon us here?" Astrid asked confused. Just before the healer could answer, a person busted through the door.

"Sorry I'm late granny. But I brought the books you asked me to." Heather said rather quickly, holding more than ten books in her hands. Her gaze quickly fell on Hiccup, sitting a few meters away from her, then she quickly noticed Astrid sitting on a bed a little further.

"Such a foolish child." The healer said approaching Heather and taking the books from her hands.

"W-What are you two doing here?" Heather asked surprised, but also worried once she noticed blood on Astrid's and Hiccup's clothes.

"We were attacked by bounty hunters." Hiccup explained.

"Bounty hunters?! Here?! But, how?"

"We were in the forest and they ambushed us."

"What were you doing in the forest without your dragons?"

"We were...Searching for a river or a spring to know where we might find dragons in the future."

Astrid said, making the old hag to look unconvinced at them.

"And are y-you seriously injured?" Heather asked approaching them.

"Astrid might have her left lung punctured." Hiccup slowly said.

"You can't be serious!" Heather said walking near Astrid.

"It hurts when I breathe and when I move."

"And how do you know that it's not a broken rib?"

"I had broken ribs before, it's not the same."

"It started to hurt after you had been hit or something?"

"A man kicked me in the side, after that I couldn't breathe for some time, and even when I managed, my whole left side started to hurt. From my shoulder to the end of my ribcage. As Hiccup carried me back to the village the pain started to fade, to some extent. I can't take deep breaths and sometimes when I breathe normally I fell a stabbing pain in my chest."

"She's as good as dead." The healer said, receiving a dead glare from the other persons.

"You don't know that!" Heather spat back.

"Didn't you hear a word she said?"

"T-That could mean a lot of things."

"You foolish child."

"Astrid, can you let me see your injury so that I can be sure about what happened?" Heather asks.

"That's what got your father killed, he never listened to the elders."

"SHUT UP!" Heather yelled, silencing everyone. "You know nothing..." She weakly said after, looking sad on the floor. "If you don't want to help, then just, leave."

"Foolish child. You should know better than to trust dangerous strangers. Bastards allying themselves with the dragons." The old hag said, leaving the hut. Heather was covering her forehead with her right hand while Astrid and Hiccup were looking confused at her.

"S-Sorry...For my outburst..." Heather said, slowly turning to look at them.

"Can I ask what was that about?" Hiccup said.

"She just always has to twist the knife in the wound..." Heather muttered, only now noticing Astrid's and Hiccup's confused looks on her. "Her name is Helder and she's my grandma. I told you that my parents died in a dragon raid, that's not entirely true...My mother died when she gave birth to me, so I lived only with my father and Helder. My father was the village trader, when we used to have one. He used to bring me books to read and different things to play with. I got an interest in plants and animals, in how the human body works and what things could interfere and how with the organism, so he brought me a lot of books about that and that's how I ended up being the healer's apprentice. When I was younger, I used to go search for rabbits and squirrels in the forest and bring them home, trying to raise them, to study them and understand their behavior. In time I built small houses in the backyard for the animals that remained with me, but Helder said that this isn't a _proper_ way to raise a woman and she used to kill the rabbits and squirrels, to try and _educate_ me that life isn't fair. I cried and I hated her for that, but I never stopped bringing small animals back, to raise them as pets. It helped me pass the time while my dad was away. But on a dragon raid, when I was twelve, the dragons targeted our house because of all the small pets that I used to keep, seeing it as a small appetizer. In the end, they burning down the house, killing my father and destroying everything he worked so hard on, destroying everything he managed to bring back from his trips. And Helder blamed me for that. After that, she always blamed me for every god damned thing that happened. She said that I am responsible of his death. She said that I killed him..." Heather finished with a sob.

"My mother was taken during a dragon raid." Hiccup began. "My father blamed dragons for it, and that's why we're running. He hates them." He shrugged. "I know what it's like. I guess I'm convening with my mother's murderer…"

Astrid grabbed his tunic and tugged gently.

"But, the past should stay there, we have other things to worry about now."

Heather nodded firmly, pushing her woes away for the moment.

Astrid carefully laid on the bed, slightly lifting her shirt, and revealed the now almost blue injury. Heather sat near the bed, looking worriedly at the bruise.

"This might hurt, but please stay still." Heather said at which Astrid silently nodded. Then Heather slightly pressed over the bruise, making Astrid flinch. "I just want to see in what condition are the ribs." Heather said, slightly withdrawing her hand, waiting for Astrid's permission to continue. After a few seconds, Heather pressed again over the injury, testing the ribs. After a few more painful moments she said. "Well, two ribs are broken, but it's not too bad. It will heal in a month or two."

"And what about the lung?" Hiccup quickly asked.

"Not sure yet..." Heather said, approaching her ear to the injured area. Both Astrid and Hiccup looked confused at her until she said. "I want to hear how is the lung working. Now if you can take a deep breath I will appreciate." Astrid took a deep breath, but she quickly flinched and stopped. "Try again. But this time slower, much slower." Heather said and Astrid complied. It didn't hurt that much this time, it felt more like a pressure slowly growing, wanting to explode out of her ribcage. "Now slowly exhale, very slowly." Heather said and Astrid complied again. The pain slowly went away, almost disappearing completely. Astrid's eyes grew wider in surprise, while Heather slowly got up.

"How did you do that?!" Astrid asked, trying to get up, but quickly being pushed back down by Heather.

"What?" Hiccup quickly asked.

"Your left lung is punctured." Heather said with a breath.

"B-B-But. The pain…is gone." Astrid said, visibly shocked and disappointed.

"Don't tell me she's going to die..." Hiccup said, approaching them.

"I-I don't know...We might do something..." Heather began to say but she was quickly interrupted by Hiccup grabbing her.

"WHAT?!" He almost yelled. "How can we save her?"

"The lung is fine, mostly. The problem with a punctured lung is the ball of air that is in the chest cavity, outside the lungs. When you breathe, the lung won't have space to properly expand and that will lead to other small injuries, in the end, crushing the lung, slowly killing the person." Heather explained, Hiccup's face visibly getting sadder. "But, if we could get the ball of air from the chest, then her lungs will have room to expands and everything should be fine."

"I never heard of something like this before." Astrid said.

"Uhm...It's kind of my idea on how to treat this..." Heather awkwardly said.

"That's just great..." Astrid muttered.

"Are you sure this could work?" Hiccup asked with a serious face.

"No...But our only other option is to stay by her until her lungs are crushed and she dies."

Heather said.

"Do you have any idea how to extract the air?"

"Hiccup! You can't be serious!" Astrid almost yelled.

"I don't want to lose you..."

"I think it will be best with a tube of some sort. From her left side, between her second and third ribs, here." Heather said, pointing superficially at Astrid's injury.

"I'll try to make something to do that. Please take care of her..." Hiccup said, starting to walk towards the door.

"You need to make something so the air won't come back inside the chest cavity." Heather added.

"Anything else I need to know?"

"She feels pain now because of the pressure inside her chest, so you just need to make something

to release the air and not come back inside the chest. Let me worry about the rest."

"Don't I have any saying in this?" Astrid said annoyed.

"Do you want to die?" Hiccup spat back a little too violent, making the girl flinch a little.

"I...No." Astrid said.

"Please take care of her." Hiccup said, storming outside the hut.

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**And here is some extra information on Astrid's condition. It's just a quick summary of my reaserch for the past few weeks, read it only if you want to get a better understanding on Astrid's medical condition.**

**So, Astrid pretty much has a traumatic pneumothorax, but a not so serious one. With the help of P-Artsypants,we found out that a pneumothorax was untreatable on that period of time. It was known from ancient Greece what a pneumothorax is, so I supposed that maybe the healers would also know some details about this condition. Heather's idea is pretty much the most basic way to treat a pneumothorax like this one and it's used in modern medicine, but it's adapted to the mentality and resources of the time. ( There are three ways to treat a pneumothorax. The first one being with "watchful waiting" or simply bed rest, this one is used only for non-lethal situations. The second one being by extracting the air from the chest cavity by needle aspiration or chest tube insertion, those are non-surgical treatments designed to "drain" excess air from the pleural space in the chest. Needle aspiration is used for not so serious conditions and it's a quick treatement, while chest tube insertion is used for serious conditions and it will take a few days, even a week. Those conditions are both lethal, what I meant by 'not so serious condition' is the pain and the difficulty to breathe. Astrid being treated with primitive chest tube insertion. The third way to treat a pneumothorax is by surgery, but I won't go into the details because I think I bored you enough already. ) The vikings were able to do some basic surgery in that era, I mean amputations and basic treatement for broken bones and some diseases, but more delicate procedures were only posible in the 19-20 century, so it should be at least interesting ( evil smile ). In this chapter I tried to give the most basic explanation for this condition and it might not be 100% accurate, but it's at least over 94.7%. **I tried to make this conditions as accurate as posible from my experience and reaserch.** If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.  
**

**Well, I hope this was usefull for those who were a little curious. I will make another one of this in the next chapter, explaining different stuff.**

**And that's about it.** Thanks**for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.******


	21. Spike

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story and the extra work she put in this chapter. Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your support for this story, it honestly exceeded all my expectations, thank you. And I will also like to thank _faisyah865_ and _TheGallopingCupcak. _**

**And the last announcement: please make sure to check the new story posted by P-**Artsypants **today, _**What The Water Gave Me.**_**

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The only one who could help Hiccup now, was his old friend, Toothless. Even thought he was a dragon, he was very intelligent and very devoted to him. Maybe even dragons suffered from this condition and maybe they created a way to treat it, or maybe he could at least help him with an idea or something. He ran towards the last place he saw him, ignoring all the stares he got from the villagers. He had only one mission now, to find Toothless.

He saw in the distance the house where they lived for the past few days. Hiccup stopped for a few seconds, catching his breath. He could see the two Nadders sitting near the house with the Monstrous Nightmare close by, but there was no sign of the other dragons. He gathered his remaining strength and ran towards the house. When he was rather close, the three dragons noticed him and turned their heads to face him.

"Where's Toothless?" Hiccup asked once he noticed that the dragons were looking at him. But they didn't respond. "Where is the Nightfury or Waelise or whatever you call him?" He asked again, stopping near the dragons. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and looked at the dragons. None of them said anything. "You." Hiccup said walking towards the Monstrous Nightmare. "I know you can understand me."

'So what?' The huge dragons asked back, indifferent.

"I-I need to talk to Toothless. Where is he?"

'Go and ask a cat you worthless viking.' The Nightmare said, getting annoyed by the little human.

"If a cat could help me then I would've asked one. Now go and find Toothless." Hiccup said.

'You don't order me around!' The Nightmare growled, igniting itself on fire. Looking intimidating at Hiccup, but the boy didn't even flinch. He looked the dragon in the eyes.

"You are the dragon that followed Heather, right?" Hiccup asked, slowly walking towards the Nightmare. He didn't wait for a response and continued. "The thing is, I don't have time for you and your stupid games, I need to find Toothless. This is a lot more important than you, so help me or get the heck out of my way." Hiccup finished with a glare, before turning and walking towards the other two dragons.

'You have a death wish, human?' The Nightmare asked, before charging at Hiccup. At first, the dragon was in the air, inches from grabbing the human, but in the next second, he was pinned to the ground by two Gronckles and a Nadder. 'Traitors!' The Nightmare growled, feeling back-stabbed by his fellow dragons.

'You idiot!' Skuller growled at him. 'Do you even know who you almost attacked?'

'A viking!' The Nightmare replied with hate in his voice.

'He is the one who introduced us to humans. He is the one that wants to end the war.'

'He is Waelise's rider?' The Nightmare asked, calming down.

'Yes, you idiot!'

Hiccup was slowly walking to the other side of the house, expecting to find the other dragons there. Just how he predicted, Toothless was there, looking at him with an amused grin.

'You took a beating.' The Nightfury pointed out.

"I need your help." Hiccup said, ignoring his friend's remark.

'So I've heard.'

"Astrid's dying." Hiccup said, making Toothless to lose his grin.

'Why?! What happened?'

"We were attacked by bounty hunters, they're all dead now. And Astrid has a punctured lung, I thought that maybe dragons can have something similar and that you might know how to treat it."

'No, we dragons have no idea how to treat this. Most of us have special healing properties within our saliva, to heal our external wounds, but I don't know if any of us can do something about an internal wound.'

"I...I understand...Thanks bud..." Hiccup said, slowly turning around and looking over the village.

He had no idea what to do now. Everything seemed so lost. He needed to clear his mind. He needed to go away for a few minutes, to be alone for a while.

So Hiccup began to walk. He began to walk through the village without a particular destination in mind. He was lost in thoughts, ignoring the people around him and everything that happened in the vicinity. He felt defeated. He felt useless, once again. Why did he have to be so helpless? Wasn't his time on Berk enough for a punishment? Wasn't fifteen years of suffering and misery enough? He was finally happy, for the last eight months he had finally been content with his life. In the last eight months, while he had been away from Berk, he was actually a happy person. Yes, he had a few problems in that time, he almost got himself maimed and killed, but everything turned out alright. He had friends, real friends that helped him, that trusted him and were happy with him. The girl of his dreams was his girlfriend and they were happy being together. The same girl told him that she was in love with him, that she actually _loved _him. And a few hours later, he is told that she might not live in a few days.

"The gods hate me..." Hiccup murmured.

He never understood all this fuss with the gods. Why should he be thankful to them if they always ignored his prayers and allowed him to be miserable. He had already payed the price for befriending a dragon, even before he met Toothless. His first real friend was a dragon.

He laughed at that thought.

His supposed archenemy was more friendly and forgiving towards him than his own family was. He found that rather ironic. A hostile dragon could forgive him for maiming him, but his father couldn't forgive him for losing a few sheep.

So a dragon was more loyal than a father, and the gods ignored everything that he had asked of them. Surely bad things happened for a reason, he supposed. He had become stronger, more able to deal with them. And that was good, after all. His life was not easy, and previous experiences made it easier for him to persevere. Maybe…just maybe the gods had been looking out for him.

But then why did Astrid have to die? She did nothing wrong! She was a good viking, she was a very pious person, she even made god damned bloody sacrifices and the gods still punished her. _Why? _Why do the gods have to be so merciless? So what if she befriended a dragon? So what if she was a strong and brave warrior? That's not a good enough reason to summon her to Valhalla. She's still too damned young. Why don't they take the fifty year old veterans and the other people that really deserve to die? They have to take a fifteen year old girl. Pathetic.

She was only fifteen years old. He was fifteen when he left Berk with Toothless, that was eight months ago. Winter was getting closer and his birthday was somewhere in that time. Hiccup thought about it a little and realized that his birthday was only one month away. Astrid's birthday was five weeks after his. She wouldn't live until her next birthday.

Hiccup fell on his knees, tears flowing down his face. For the first time in what felt like forever, he felt the pain of his wounds, tearing and burning his flesh with every breath he took. And a new pain in his chest, stronger than the others, pulsating with his very own heartbeat, growing stronger and more menacing with each passing second. For the first time in what felt like hours, he looked around him, recognizing his surroundings. He was in the forest. He couldn't remember how or when he got there, but he looked far enough from the village. He crawled to the base of a tree, he lied his back against the stump and cried.

A lot of things happened in the last day. Too many things.

Soon enough he was out of tears. His neck was hurting him and his will was fighting his eyes to remain open. The sun was slowly fading. The forest started to look dark, even hostile. Everything around him looked like it was mocking him, laughing at his incompetence, at his weakness. But he didn't care anymore. The girl that he loved was going to die and it was all because of him.

He was the one that brought her here. He was the one who convinced her that dragons were good creatures, making her stay with him. He should've been able to protect her. He should've been stronger. But he wasn't.

He was ambitious, he had good ideas, he had a big heart, but he was still the same weak and scared boy he was before, only now blinded by a misplaced felling of 'honor' and 'self-esteem'.

He was a fool.

He really thought that he could make a difference in this miserable world. He really _tried _to make a difference. But what was the point? He didn't care about dragons and vikings. None of them were particularly fond of him. The vikings hated him because he was a runt. The dragons hated him because he was a viking. He just wanted to be happy with his dragon friend and with his girlfriend. Was that too much to ask? Was that too difficult to achieve? To live in peace with the two creatures that he loved and who loved him back.

Astrid Hofferson loved him.

She placed her trust in him and he failed her. He was supposed to make something to save her and he was sitting in the forest crying. He tried to get up, but he stumbled after only a few steps, falling in the dirt again.

"I know that we were never very good ground, but listen to me now." Hiccup yelled, looking up in the sky, still kneeling. "I paid your stupid price for Toothless. I suffered for fifteen bloody years and I was content with my life for a few months. It was nice and I was actually happy for a while with Astrid, but now I know that you're not fond and have no respect for any person that wants to end this bloodshed. Now I know that you don't want to end this cursed war. You're all blood thirsty bastards! You're all cowards! You can punish me, I will gladly accept any fate you have planned, but leave Astrid alone! She did nothing to deserve this. Spare her life..." Hiccup finished with a dry cry, running out of tears awhile ago. He stood there for a few more minutes, looking around, waiting for a sign or something to confirm their bargain, but nothing happened. He wiped his dried tears and dirt from his face, slowly getting up. For a few more minutes, he just stood there and looked around, still hoping for a sign or something. Anything. But again, nothing happened.

He started to head back on the way he came, noticing a small light in the distance. The light must come from a fireplace or something from the village, he thought. So he slowly started walking towards the light, taking a lot of small breaks, leaning on nearby trees to catch his breath.

As he walked through a small clearing, he saw two wolfs in front of him, feasting on their prey. He slowly approached them, carefully inspecting the two beasts. One of them was white, while the other one was black. When he was close enough, he noticed that they were feasting on a person. He slowly looked around, immediately recognizing the area. There were three corpses here.

He had killed them.

His eyes fell on the ground, noticing his forgotten helmet. He picked it up, holding it under his arm. He looked around again, noticing a bounty hunter with a dagger in his chest. Hiccup approached him and retrieved his weapon. He examined his dagger for a few seconds, remembering the history behind this blade. The first two weapons he ever created with Gronckle Iron were two daggers, one for him and one for Astrid. A pair, just like them.

For a few seconds he didn't noticed the two feral wolves looking at him, he didn't noticed just how huge the beasts were. They were almost twice his size. This couldn't be natural. This couldn't be right. So he approached them. He looked confused and curious at the two animals. Then he smiled.

Was this the sign the gods gave him? Were those two animals here to take his life? To exchange his life for Astrid's? He sheathed his dagger and stood between the two wolves. The beasts started to growl at him, warning him not to approach, but he ignored them, until he was mere inches from the two animals. He closed his eyes, new found tears slowly flowing down his cheeks.

"Just keep your end of the bargain..." Hiccup said and waited. After a few minutes that felt like hours, the growling stopped. He opened his eyes and looked around. The wolves were gone. "You can't be serious..." Hiccup muttered, starting to walk towards the village, defeated, humiliated, once more.

It was nightfall when he finally arrived. There weren't many people remaining on the streets, but those who were still outside, looked curiously at him, but he ignored them and went to the healers hut, where Astrid surely was. He slowly opened the door and slipped in. Heather was at the cauldron, carefully mixing something, Astrid was sitting on the bed she lied previously, eating from a wooden bowl and Toothless was on the ground, near Astrid's bed, carefully watching over her.

"Look who finally showed up." Astrid said, noticing him, but Hiccup ignored her remark and slowly approached her, dropping his helmet somewhere on the way, before sitting near her, grabbing her in a tight hug. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know what to do..." Hiccup said with an almost broken voice, not releasing her. Astrid looked confused at him for a few seconds until she understood what he meant, then she said with a calm and soft voice.

"You don't have to do anything. I've accepted my fate."

"But you've promised..." Hiccup muttered on her neck.

"I've promised that I won't give up until my final breath, so that you can have time to do something if you want, and I intend to keep this promise, but it's entirely up to you on how we proceed from this point." Astrid said, caressing his hair. Hiccup silently nodded, still holding her.

"I went to the forest." Hiccup said after a small pause.

"And something interesting happened?"

He opened his mouth, preparing to tell her about the wolves, but then he stopped. Realizing that she didn't need to know about it. "N-No, nothing in particular."

"Astrid told me about your injuries, why didn't you said anything before you went?" Heather asked, joining the conversation.

"I...Forgot..."

"How can you forget about being stabbed in the shoulder and two big cuts on your palms?"

"I had other things to worry about." Hiccup responded, looking at Heather as she brought a small bucket with water and a piece of cloth.

"I understand that you are worried for Astrid and that you care deeply for her, and that's nice, don't get me wrong, but you can't ignore your own injuries. Your situation is also quite bad." Heather said, putting the bucket with water near Astrid's bed and giving her the piece of cloth. "Can you clean his wounds while I go to see if there is any salve left?"

"Sure." Astrid answered, grabbing Hiccup's left arm and starting to untie the bandage she wrapped earlier that day.

"You shouldn't be doing this, your condition is far worse than mine."

"I can still do basic things. Heather said that as long as I don't force myself to run or do any heavy lifting, I should be fine. For now at least..." Astrid said, wetting the clean piece of cloth in the bucket.

"How's the pain?" Hiccup asked after a few moments of silence, watching as Astrid was cleaning his palms from dirt and dried blood.

"It's not that bad. It's not even close to how it felt when you were carrying me. I can almost breathe normally. I can talk normally. I can even walk without too much discomfort." Astrid said, unwrapping the bandage from the other hand.

"That's good." Hiccup responded, visibly tensed and distant. After that they stood in silence for another few moments, Astrid couldn't bear it anymore asked more aggressively than she initially intended.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you honestly asking me 'what's wrong' ?"

"I know 'what's wrong', but I don't like your reaction about 'what wrong'. Let's talk about this!" Astrid said, more like ordered.

"I don't see how talking would change anything."

"It would make _me_ feel better!"

"Fine! I'm injured, you're dying, what else is there to talk about?!"

"Yeah! You're right, that's about it!" Astrid said, throwing the piece of wet cloth at Hiccup. "I'm fricking dying and you go alone in the forest while you're injured. Let's just forget about the bounty hunters that attacked us a few hours ago. Let's just ignore the fact that _we _almost died today in _that _forest. If you were attacked this time we couldn't do anything to help you. YOU could have died!_"_ She finished, small tears forming in her eyes.

"Astrid..." Hiccup slowly said, his expression getting sadder. "I-I'm sorry... I'm such an idiot..." He said burying his face in his palms.

"Won't deny that." She responded, turning her back at him.

"I was stupid. I didn't think about your reaction towards this. And I'm sorry." Hiccup said, gently grabbing her arm, making her slowly turn towards him.

"That's one way to put it." She responded with a still annoyed tone.

"I'm sorry...You're right...That was reckless..." Hiccup said slowly raising his gaze until it met hers.

"I also need you, Hiccup... I was so worried after you just disappeared. Heather went out to look for you and after she didn't found you in the village, I-I thought that maybe something bad happened." Astrid said with a calmer tone, gently cupping his face.

"I know...I'm sorry..." Hiccup said, leaning into her touch.

"Then why did you disappear?"

"I needed some time to think, about everything. I needed to be alone for a while..."

"I know that you haven't seen each other for a few hours, but for Thor's sake, can we treat Hiccup's wounds before you two jump on each other?" Heather interrupted, approaching them, carrying a wooden bowl in her hand.

Astrid rolled her eyes and gave a little distance between them, "I guess," she teased.

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It was rather late at night, Astrid was cuddled by Hiccup's side, neither one of them really asleep. They were both exhausted from their day, but they couldn't find the strength to abandon each other for the far more pleasant world of dreams, afraid that something bad might happen if they lost sight of each other. So they just sat there in silence, neither one of them really being able to find words for their current situation.

Heather left almost an hour ago, going home to rest. Toothless was still on the floor, guarding his two humans, even Ild and Blad joined Toothless in his defensive mission. Helder didn't return to the hut since she left earlier that day, but no one really missed her. The world outside the healer's hut also seemed calm. Crickets were peacefully singing outside, the light of the moon was discreetly entering through the leather 'curtains' and the only other light inside the room came from the small almost extinguished fireplace. Even if the outside world was rather calm, winter was still getting closer, bringing a cold and steady wind with it and the hides at the windows did close to nothing to stop the cold air from getting in.

"I should put some wood on the fire..." Hiccup broke the silence, trying to get up.

"Don't..." Astrid muttered with a tired voice, hugging him tighter.

"We will freeze otherwise."

"We have furs..."

"I don't think that would be enough."

"Stay here." Astrid said, slowly getting up and grabbing the furs from the nearby bed and tossing them on Hiccup. "There, now you should be warm enough."

"But I was more worried about you." Hiccup said, covering her with the furs she brought just as she laid down next to him.

"Hiccup the Generous, always thinking about others before him."

"It's the least I can do after screwing things up." He responded, turning to face her. Astrid slowly brought her face closer to his, until their foreheads touched.

"You didn't screw anything up. We were just – unlucky."

"It was my call to come to this island, so in the..."

"Shush. Just try to sleep."

"But..."

"Good night, Hiccup."

"Good night, Astrid." They stood in silence for a few more minutes, until Hiccup said. "Astrid?"

"Hm?" The girl asked back sleepily.

"Y-You know…I-I love y-you?"

"Yes Hiccup, I know—…" Astrid began to say then she suddenly stopped, opened her eyes and growing a smile on her face. "You really love me?"

"W-Well, yes. I-I was afraid t-to say it be-because I was afraid t-that you might n-not feel the same a-and I-I would have ruin—.." Hiccup began to stutter an explication until Astrid silenced him with a deep kiss. At first he was taken aback by her sudden action, but soon he joined in. When they broke for air, they were both smiling and looking happy at each other. For those few moments they even forgot about their condition and about everything that happened that day.

"Say that again." She ordered in a gentle voice.

"I love you, Astrid."

"I love you too, Hiccup." She responded with a quick peck. Soon after that they were both happily drifting in the land of dreams.

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It was almost noon when Astrid and Hiccup were sitting on the bench near the elder's house, watching the sky, waiting for Stormfly's return with the rest of their dragons. Two sturdy vikings were near them, watching over them. After the young couple had walked around the village early in the morning, the elder put two warriors to act as their personal bodyguards for the rest of their stay. The two dragon riders were skeptical about this, but those two vikings didn't seem hostile towards them and in all honestly, they weren't even such a bad company. They seemed friendly enough and didn't hesitate to answer every question the two dragon riders asked. They found a few interesting informations about the village and about Heather's relation with her grandmother.

( Flashback or something )

Since her grandmother was the village's healer, she quickly got a new house after the unfortunate lost of her son and his residence, but what really surprised them was that Helder kicked her own granddaughter out of the house, leaving young Heather to live on the cold streets of the small village. A lot of villagers offered to house Heather but she refused them all. She was a stubborn girl and she didn't accept pity from the others, so she slowly moved in the forest, hunting so that she could have food and pay her hosts for shelter.

A while after the trader's death, the village was still visited by different hunters and merchants, so Heather saved a large amount of quality furs and different animal trophies and managed to trade them for a good bow and a few quality arrows. A few months after that, the small village almost disappeared from most maps and was ignored by the rest of the world, not having anything of real value left.

Since Heather spent most of her time in the forest, she unofficially became the villages hunter, since she hunted so much in order to pay for her way of life, indirectly providing the village with furs, animal fat and meat. After almost two years of collecting animal trophies and different furs, she managed to pay for a house to live in. And since she didn't have to hunt for hours to be able to have a shelter at night above her head, she returned to her study of the healing arts, becoming the healers apprentice, after a lot of struggle. Helder used to send her to different islands in the archipelago to gather different ingredients and books, but she always managed to bring extra books for her personal collection, so that by the age of fifteen she had almost managed to recreate the library her father spent years to make.

By the age of sixteen she already had Helder's knowledge and even more, even if the old hag would never admit that, she was an excellent hunter and she had already been to the major viking villages in the Barbaric Archipelago. With those actions and a lot of hard work and dedication for the village's future, she managed to win the respect of almost every viking from her village.

And she surprised everyone again when she came with the idea to ask for Fáfnir's help with the dragons. That caused a big hit to her reputation, but in the end the elders agreed and allowed her to search for the notorious Dragon Rider.

( End of weird, not really flashback )

The small group waited there for another two hours, talking about random unimportant topics, until they spotted Heather in the distance, slowly walking towards them. Once she was close enough, Astrid and Hiccup noticed Heather's nervous expression. She jogged the remaining distance until she was close enough to yell at them. "Why the heck didn't you tell me about that man that came here with you?!"

"You said you figured that out." Astrid replied out, somewhat confused.

"Let me rephrase. Why the heck didn't you told me that he knows where you live?!"

"What happened?" Hiccup asked.

"He sneaked in the house and attacked me! He demanded to know what happened to you two and threatened to kill me!"

"What happened to him?" Astrid asked, getting worried.

"Well, one thing led to another and Farble knocked him unconscious." Hiccup chuckled at her response and Astrid punched his left shoulder annoyed.

"That's not funny!" Astrid said, trying to sound threatening, but she was also slightly amused.

"You're right, sorry." Hiccup said. "Where is he now?"

"Farble helped me transport him to the healer's hut. Now do you mind telling me who this person  
is?"

"He's Cuyler Hofferson. The infamous viking that uses a Boneknapper rib as a bow, one of the finest archers in the Barbaric Archipelago and also my father." Astrid proudly explained.

"And he'd been knocked unconscious by a Hotburple." Hiccup added, earning another punch from Astrid.

"Anyway," Heather quickly interrupted, "that's not why I'm here. I'm here because when I was to the healer's hut, you two weren't there. So, why aren't you?"

"We are waiting for Stormfly to return with the rest of the dragons." Hiccup said.

"Why?"

"After your incident with the Monstrous Nightmare we asked the elder to ban the access to the forest, so in order to be able to gather supplies for the winter we will bring our dragons to hunt and gather wood for you."

"Thanks, I guess. But you are still here when you were supposed to be there, resting." Heather said, pointing in the general direction of the hut.

"We will get there after the dragons arrive."

"Just go there now. I'll wait here for Stormfly and then I'll send her to you." Heather said, slightly annoyed.

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Astrid and Hiccup were both lying on Toothless side, looking at an angry Deadly Nadder squawking and shooting spikes at the houses nearby. Well, they expected Stormfly to get mad when she learnt about Astrid's condition, but not like this.

"Stormfly, calm yourself." Astrid said after Toothless destroyed a spike that was pointed at him, unintentional, of course.

"We still have time, she's not dead yet." Hiccup said.

'But she will be soon...' Stormfly replied sadly and crouched near them, finally calming herself a little.

"What gives you that idea?" Astrid asked, gently petting the Nadder.

'You both said that this is a serious injury...And that no one survived such an injury before, so there is no treatment.'

"Hiccup will think of something. Right Hiccup?"Astrid asked. After not getting a response she turned her head to look at him. He was starring at the house opposite to them. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked, pushing him a little.

"I think I just got an idea." Hiccup quickly responded. Without another word, he leapt to his feet.

* * *

**Yes, I know, cliffhanger...**

**And I know I said I will explain some different stuff at the end of this chapter, but on thing lead to another and...yeah...here we are...**

******Anyway, thanks **for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.********


	22. Forest

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. **Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your support for this story.**

**And on a side note, this story will be put on hold for about three weeks, allowing me to publish a three chapter short story about my guess on Toothless's past and about the whole Nightfury situation, and to rewrite the first few chapters to look more like the recent ones. There won't be any story changing, I'll only work on the language and the writing in general, so you won't lose anything if you won't reread them.  
**

* * *

Two weeks had passed since the two dragon riders first arrived on Eyhirr. Since Stormfly returned with their dragons, Hiccup and Heather spent most of their time organizing small teams of rapid and powerful dragons with vikings to hunt bears, deers, wolfs and other animals, while the bigger dragons were used to carry the logs that were cut by the Timberjacks out of the forest, even Scauldy was leading the other Scauldrons in different fishing trips, more or less successful. In short, everyone was working together.

In the past few days, a large group of feral dragons got interested in the new dragon presence in the forest and started to interfere with their work, but not in a really bad manner. They played with each other. The tamed dragons were playing and spending time with wild dragons. Fortunate for the vikings, the wild dragons didn't seemed hostile towards them, since the tamed dragons didn't have a problem with humans, in the end, making the wild dragons to act normally around humans. This action allowed Hiccup to 'properly' tame those dragons and make them help the village by gathering resources. This also allowed the initial group of dragons, the ones who were brought from Heim, to share the caves and the feeding grounds with the group of 'freshly' tamed dragons, solidifying the relation between the two groups and indirectly with the villagers.

When two weeks had passed, they had almost tripled the numbers of tamed dragons who wanted to help them achieve peace. They went from almost thirty big dragons, not counting the Terrible Terrors, to almost eighty-five big dragons, from which more than twenty belonged to new species, previously unknown to them. Heather had explained the things her village knew about those dragons, but it wasn't too much information. The Hotburples were heavy and slow dragons who are also very lazy, being able to sleep while hovering and they also prefer to eat minerals instead of rocks, not like their cousins, Gronckles. The first thing Hiccup realized about those dragons was the huge potential in blacksmithing, the possibility to make stronger, lighter and more resistant metal than Gronckle Iron, but the name really needed work. The Rumblehorn was a dragon that pretty much resembled a huge beetle. This dragons seemed to be very resistant because of its scaly armor and strong because of its body. Toothless also said that those dragons were used to scout islands with their very strong scent of smell and they were also way more intelligent than the average dragon, but not quite as him, of course. And the last dragon that joined them, not without a lot of struggle, was a huge, not really friendly Snaptrapper. This huge green dragon had four heads with three jaws, each one opening in a different way, each one having three tongues, fully opened, each head almost leaving the innocent view of a wild flower. Each of those heads also emited a sweet smell, attracting the unsuspected prey. And they wouldn't have noticed the dragon if it wasn't for Ild to almost get killed by one of its heads. The dragon seemed fine with the other dragons and with Hiccup's presence, but she was uncomfortable with other humans.

Those new dragons were used mostly for wood transport, but the Snaptrapper, Coco, was used to, well, trap wild animals. With all the help from the dragons, the village's storage was more than full at the end of the second week. But in the end, the village's elder agreed to send the surplus to Jàrnstarfa, to start a trade contract of some kinds between the only two villages that accepted dragons. This action was nothing if not beneficial for both villages. One of them would supply the small alliance with weapons and armors, while the other with food, furs and building materials.

In the end, they might actually have a chance, a very dim chance to show the rest of the viking world that dragons weren't that bad.

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Hiccup was walking with Toothless through the forest, silently admiring the dragons and vikings working together, trying to achieve a common goal. In that moment, he actually felt content with the world, he felt like he did something good, he felt proud of himself. But just as always, when you achieve something, there are always problems around the corner. Now with over one hundred big dragons in total, they would have to double their efforts in hiding and taking care of them. It was rather easy to take care of a group of twenty to thirty dragons since they would usually find shelter and hunt on their own, but with almost one hundred dragons, there could be a lot of complications. What if some species don't work well with one another? What if those dragons would fight each other over food or something? And another problem was the existence of two villages whom he helped to integrate dragons in their society. Now he will have to take care of two different groups of vikings understanding dragons. Was he ready for that? With Jàrnstarfa it was rather easy since Audun and his son did most of the work with the outside world, leaving him only to hold lessons with a few volunteers about dragons taming, but this village didn't really have a chief, just an elder selected to rule the village for the time being. The problem is that now he had to find a person that was capable of being a chief and that could carry all the responsibilities of that title. And that person also needed to know how to act around dragons and how to take care of them.

The next problem in line was the transport of trade goods between the two villages. It would be rather difficult to transport the necessary amount of food to Jàrnstarfa without being noticed. It would look suspicious if Jàrnstarfa just sent their fleet to gather resources from a smaller, almost unknown village. And it would look even more suspicious when those vessels would come back almost full. They could use dragons to quickly transport the resources between the two villages, but then again, it would look really suspicious if a pack of dragons were just carrying boxes and wood piles, especially after a notorious dragon rider entered the scene. But this problem could wait a little longer.

The rest of his day was spited between giving commands or advices to vikings and running after dragons that didn't do what they were supposed to. In a word, tiring. And a particular hour was spent trying to make peace between Coco and a small group of vikings and dragons, in the end, they just changed a few glares and walked away without any violence. But what really surprised Hiccup was that the group of vikings quickly joined sides with the group of dragon against a common foe, not one that they should really fight, but it was the idea that mattered. Dragons and vikings could form a bond in a very short period of time if it was needed. But then again, this might lead to other problems, but he didn't need to worry about that now, the week was still a great achievement.

When it was finally evening, most vikings called it a day, allowing the dragons to eat and rest, that was the time when Hiccup wanted to go home and sleep, but his hopes were quickly shattered when the elder summoned him and asked him to explain him more about the bond between a viking and a dragon. So, he spent a few hours answering different question, on which some where really, let's say, unexpected from a man of his stature. When he finally managed to 'escape' the unending number of boring questions, he quietly sneaked home, trying not to delay his plans of sleeping anymore.

When he entered the hearth of the house, he was slightly surprised, in a rather bad way. The fireplace was extinguished and it was almost as cold as outside and just as an bonus there was no firewood left near it to reignite the fire and he wasn't going to go to the warehouse to carry a few logs back, so he released an annoyed sigh and ran upstairs, to the room where he slept the past weeks. He quickly threw his leader armor in favor of a cloth tunic and pants. He grabbed a few more furs from the small wardrobe in the room and threw them on the bed, then he quickly blocked the window with a leather hide, stopping the cold wind from blowing in the room. When everything seemed alright he got in bed and covered himself with the furs previously acquired.

Not even ten minutes had passed when the door was opened with a squeak. He grew tensed for a few seconds, until he heard the very familiar curse, before the door was closed again. Steps that tried to be silent but failing because of the creaking old wood were approaching him. The walking stopped somewhere close to the bed and a rather loud whisper said, "Hiccup." but he tried to ignore it. After a few more seconds the whisper said again, a little louder this time, "_Hiccup_," this time, he covered his head with a fur. A hand was placed on his shoulder and gently shook him. "Hiccup!"

"Go away..." Hiccup muttered.

"Come on."

"Let me sleep..."

"For Thor's sake, get up!" The too familiar voice said louder than before.

"No..."

"Come on, let's spend some time somewhere."

"Let's spend some time sleeping." Hiccup quickly replied.

"I slept the whole fricking day in that cursed hut. I'll have nightmares with that damned ceiling. Now get up, let's do something..."

"But it's cold outside and I'm tired..."

"You'll dress warmer. Get up!"

"Astrid, please, let me sleep..."

"You could have slept if you stayed in that damned hut with me until Heather allowed me to go outside."

"Wait, Heather didn't give you permission to walk freely yet?" Hiccup said getting in a sitting position and facing her.

"No!"

"Then what the heck are you doing here?! You should be resting!" Hiccup said a little louder.

"Shhh! There are people sleeping in this house." Astrid shushed him with an amused expression.

"Astrid, you just had a very serious injury and you barely survived. That was almost two weeks ago. You should seriously be resting." Hiccup said unamused, visibly worried.

"That's what I did for the past week, Hiccup! I just want to breathe the cold night air, to walk through the village undisturbed, to just spend some time with you without being yelled at. I will even say 'please' if you will agree." Astrid pleaded.

"I guess we could spend some time in the forest. But you have to say 'please'." Hiccup said after a small pause, earning a rather weak punch from Astrid. Anyway, she was right. She had been kind of locked in the healer's hut for most of the past week, but her condition was very bad. It's true that in the past few days her condition improved substantially, but she was the first person to survive such an injury, so they weren't sure how fast she was supposed to recover. But if she was well enough to be able to successfully sneak past Cuyler's guard, trying to find Hiccup or at least something to do, how bad could it be to spend some time with her in the forest?

"Well, come on!" She said visibly excited, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the door.

"I won't go like this." Hiccup quickly pointed out.

"Why?"

"It's freezing outside."

"Well, then, get changed and I'll go grab some food." Astrid said trying to be quiet before she quickly ran down the stairs.

"And get Toothless!" Hiccup almost yelled after her.

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They were slowly walking hand in hand through the forest, followed closely by Toothless. It was mostly a silent night, the only noises that followed them were made by small night hunters, searching for their prey. Even if a few hours ago the moon was shining powerful, lighting the village, now it was covered white clouds, making the path in the forest a little darker than it should.

Even if they were walking only for about fifteen minutes, Astrid already looked slightly tired, she slowed the pace and she was already starting to struggle walking over the rocks and fallen branches. The physical trauma and the two weeks in bed didn't really bode well with her style of living. Before, she could run for hours until she really felt tired and now, after spending about thirty minutes outside she already felt winded, but her stubbornness was preventing her to ask Hiccup to slow down or to take a break. But Hiccup noticed this, and knowing her pride, he said, "Let's stay here." pointing with his free hand at a large tree.

"Sure, why not." Astrid responded, happy that he tried to sound normal and not bring up her tiredness. They got a small deer fur that Toothless was carrying and put it at the base of the tree before they sat on it. The Nightfury approached them and also sat near the tree.

'You want to make a fire?' Toothless asked, expecting to have to get up after he made himself comfortable.

"We could." Hiccup said starting to get up before he was pushed back down by his dragon.

'I'll get the firewood needed, you two just rest here.' The dragons said, starting to walk away.

"Thanks bud."

'I expect fish for this, you know?'

"I figured..." Hiccup muttered before Toothless disappeared in the night forest.

The two teens sat there in silence for a few minutes, gently leaning on each other, until Astrid tried to start a normal conversation by asking, "How's the village doing with the dragons?"

"Nothing had really changed since yesterday, except that Coco almost killed a Terrible Terror today and I had to stop the dragons and the vikings from fighting each other."

"How did the vikings intervene?"

"They tried to help the small Terror. At least they can get together in case that something bad happens."

"That's good." They sat in silence again for a few minutes, until Hiccup put his arm around her shoulder, bringing her closer to him.

"Sorry I didn't come today to see how you're doing." Hiccup said.

"You just made me come to see you." She responded. " And thanks for agreeing to come here with me."

"It was kind of boring without you being around all the time."

"You at least weren't locked in a small hut for two weeks."

"You could barely walk the first week and even now you are still rather weak."

"I'm not weak!"

"No, you're not. You're the strongest person I know, Astrid, but even so, your injury was very serious and you still need time to recover." Hiccup said kissing her temple.

"I know...At least this time you won't have to waste time helping me train."

"What do you mean 'waste time'?"

"My dad can help me, or even Heather if she wants."

"But I've said that I'll help you."

"And by doing that you will waste time that could be spent teaching the villagers about dragons or helping with the transport of materials from the two villages, or even make another village accept dragons."

"Astrid, those things can wait."

"No, they can't! The more time you waste not making peace between dragons and vikings the more of them will die."

"And don't you think that two persons could do this job better?"

"I'll join when I'm capable."

"Astrid, I think I said this before, but I'll say it again, you're a lot more important to me than those vikings, or dragons."

"But isn't that our goal, to end the bloodshed?"

"You almost dying for a single island is not worth it in my eyes. Not worth it at all."

"Come on, it wasn't that bad."

"It wasn't that bad?! Astrid, I wasn't that afraid even when I first met Toothless and cut him loose."

"Well, we pulled through this as you said."

"I know, but let's not do this again." Hiccup said, earning a small laugh from Astrid. They stayed in silence for a few more minutes, listening to the sounds of the forest. "I have to tell you something." Hiccup said.

"What happened?" Astrid asked confused, raising her head to face him.

"You remember the night after those bounty hunters attacked?"

"Yes, I do."

"I told you that I went to the forest, but I didn't tell you what I was doing there."

"No, no you didn't." Astrid responded, trying to remember more precisely that night. "But you seemed distant. And even desperate."

"I prayed to the gods then."

"Well, it worked." Astrid contently responded, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I asked them to trade my life for yours."

"You did what?!"

"I asked the gods to spare your life and take mine instead."

"Well it didn't work!"

Hiccup ignored her remark and continued. "When I was walking back to the village, I found the place where the bounty hunters attacked us. There were two wolves there."

"They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"If they would, I really doubt I would still be here."

"Somehow, I doubt that two wolves could kill you that easily."

"Each one of them was twice my size." Hiccup pointed out, at which Astrid was silent. She was looking at him, visibly worried, then she nodded, allowing him to continue. "I figured this was the sign the gods gave me, so I sheathed my dagger and slowly approached them, waiting for them to kill me. And they walked away." Hiccup finished, earning a punch from Astrid.

"You idiot! Don't you ever do something like that again!"

"I did it in hope to save you."

She punched him again. "Promise me you will never, under any circumstances, try something like that again!"

"I don't know if I could keep that promise."

"Promise me, Hiccup!"

"What would you've done if I was the one dying?" Hiccup asked, turning Astrid's annoyed expression into a rather sad one.

"Probably the same thing..." She said after a small pause, leaning her head back on his shoulder.

A few minutes later, Toothless returned, awkwardly dragging a rather large log with his mouth. After he dragged the piece of wood at a few feet from the young couple, he shot a fire blast, igniting it, then he made himself comfortable lying near the fire.

"Thanks, bud." Hiccup said, watching as Astrid got up and retrieved a small bag from Toothless's saddle. "So, what did you pack?"

"Apples," Astrid answered.

"Apples?"

"Yes, apples."

"Of all things, why apples?"

"I only found apples." She said, sitting back near him.

"That's just great..." Hiccup sarcastically commented, looking as Astrid got a green apple out of the bag.

"Take this one. It has the color of your eyes. Well, almost." Astrid gave Hiccup the apple, earning a laugh from him.

"But why didn't you say that there were only apples? We could've stopped by the warehouse or had Toothless hunt something."

'I brought wood for fire. I've done enough.' Toothless interjected.

"I didn't think you would really be hungry."

"I passed breakfast, barely had anything for lunch and I also passed dinner."

"Oh. Sorry then." She shrugged.

Almost an hour passed. Astrid and Hiccup were enjoying the other side of their relationship. The more lustful one. In their time together, they always supported each other, they were always there to help on another, to defend each other for foreign threats. They have proved their devotion and respect for each other on numerous occasions. They spent most of their happy and sad moments together, enjoying or encouraging each other, depending on their situation. But they also physically displaying their feelings for one another. A simple, yet very efficient way to release deep feelings and emotions gathered and imprisoned deeply in one's heart: a simple kiss, managing to release, in a beautiful and pure way, the hidden lust they shared for each other. A primitive yet very complex expressivity of physical desire shared between the two of them, little actions, almost insignificant, shared and known only by them, creating a temporary pleasure while also smoldering the desire.

In more simple words, Astrid was sitting on Hiccup's lap, both of them being lost in a passionate kiss. Astrid's hands being entangled in Hiccup's hair, gently moving to his neck, deepening the kiss, while Hiccup was carefully fondling her, treating her like a gentle flower.

Toothless on the other hand was not having such a great time. He was sitting on the cold ground, being warmed only by what remained from the log he brought a while ago and glancing at them from time to time, wanting to go home. But he understood their mating desire, but what he never understood was why they took so long. It had been almost four months since they started to show interest in one another. Even Cuyler told him and Stormfly not to let them engage in the act of mating. But why? Wouldn't it be better if they would mate already and stop dragging him everywhere at night, when it's cold outside to 'almost mate', again.

But even if it started as a good time for Astrid and Hiccup, it didn't end just as pleasant. At a moment Astrid released a sudden and forced exhale, pulling away from Hiccup, making the boy look confused at her. She grabbed her left side, where her injury was and Hiccup's expression turned from one of confusion to one of worry.

"A-Are you alright?" Hiccup asked at which Astrid slowly shook her head. "We have to go back to the village."

"No..." Astrid weakly said, managing to take a few deep breaths, slowly calming herself.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked after Astrid seemed more relaxed. Now even Toothless was slowly approaching them, also worried.

"It just hurt a little. The pain is almost gone now."

"You couldn't breathe for a few moments."

"I can now." She replied, slowly getting up.

"Astrid, this could be serious."

"We can tell Heather when we get back then, but I don't think it's anything too serious. I think I just got a little too worked up for my condition."

'If you mated when you first showed interest to one another now you wouldn't have been 'too worked up'. ' Toothless said, earning a glare from both teens.

"Let's just go back to the village." Astrid said.

"We have to find Heather and tell her about this."

"It can wait till morning."

"You had a very serious injury just two weeks ago." Hiccup said as they began to walk towards the village.

"I know, you keep reminding me, but seriously, I am really better now, it can wait till morning."

Hiccup sighed, knowing the extent of her stubbornness. "Fine, but first thing in the morning. I'll stay with you tonight to make sure." He nudged her.

She snorted. "Fine by me."

* * *

**Just to get this out of the way, the sudden pain in Astrid's chest after the surgery is normal and won't affect her on the long run, so she's going to be fine, no more angst and drama, for now.**

**And I know that isn't what most of you were expecting, but I hope you find it 'good enough' at least. Please?**

**Also, Hiccup's idea was to use one of Stormfly's spikes as a small tube to drain the air from the lung cavity. With the help of Toothless he will put a small round rock inside it, so that it can block the air from comming back, but not from leaving, pretty much like a valve. And then Astrid would have to stay with that thing stuck on her left side for about a week and I've decided to just jump the extra drama and angst and to stop torturing you with this 'episode'. Hope I cleared everything out.**

******Anyway, thanks **for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.********


	23. author note

I posted a new story that is pretty much the dragons side of the whole war between dragons and vikings. Its called _Abandoning the past_ and its in the same AU as _A New Legend_. This story will also explain the name Waelise and the dragon society.

And to answer a question from the last chapter from a Guest. I know that Nadder's spikes are poisonous but after my research ( I have too much free time... ) I don't believe they are lethal. And I have a few reasons to believe that.

The first one is a comparison between a few other dragons that are poisonous. The Terrible Terror has a venom level of 12 and in HTTYD 1 Tuffnut was bitten by one and survived. The Speed Stinger has a venom level of 15 and they are still not lethal, they only paralyze their prey. And the Deadly Nadder has a venom level of 16, so they could be deadly, but the wiki said nothing about that, so I doubt it.

The second reasons is that the vikings are figthing dragons for a few hundred years and I think that in that time they might have created an antivenom or something. And also Stormfly is shooting spikes at Snotlout, pinning him to the walls a few times in the tv series and I don't think she would do that if she could kill him.


	24. Trinket

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. **Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your support for this story.**

**And we are back. Here is a rather short chapter, but I hope you'll like it. The first 10 chapters had been reposted, but without any changes to the storyline. The only thing worth point out is that in the first few chapters there had been a few mention of Hiccup's mother, but those had been removed because of HTTYD 2.**

**And to answer _mark._ Yes, I know that Toothless isn't as playful as it should be, and you are not the first person to point that out. The main cause of that is that Astrid and Hiccup can understand dragons, so that removes the scenes where Toothless would try to point something out and they wouldn't be able to understand him. Anyway, I'll try to make some 'funny' Toothless scenes in the future. And I wouldn't really say that Astrid is hurt 'a lot', I would rather go with 'serious injuries'. Yes, that will create a stronger bond between them. Yes, there will be a few chapters mostly for that. And yes, once again. And I must point out that **Fáfnir** is only a dragon rider that is known to have killed a person. Only the persons that know about the existence of Astrid and Hiccup know that **Fáfnir** is connected to Jàrnstarfa and that he has a small dragon army to support him, the rest of the archipelago is clueless. And again, no one knows that Jàrnstarfa is helped by dragons. Heather managed to find ****Fáfnir** by going to the closest big village and asking around about him, in the end, getting Cuyler's attention. Anyway, I'm happy you like the story :)****

* * *

Almost two weeks later.

Heather was hiding in a tree, looking at a small clearing in the forest, waiting for her unsuspected prey to appear. Her bow in her left hand, three arrows in her right hand. After almost twenty minutes, a boar slowly walked into the clearing. That was her target. She put two arrows on a branch, near her, grabbing the remaining one and placing it on the string. She felt a slight touch on her shoulder and when she turned to look at what disturbed her, there was a small Terrible Terror looking excited at her. She smiled at the small dragon and made a sign for it to stay quiet. After a few seconds of concentration, she took a deep breath, pulling the string until it touched her right cheek, and then released the arrow, flying and killing the animal.

"Now to carry that thing back to the camp..." She said sighing. After she grabbed the remaining two arrows she jumped down from the tree, quickly followed by the small Terror. She approached the dead animal and retrieved the arrow from its body.

Heather stood and looked at the boar for a few moments, trying to find out the best way to carry it. After a few seconds of thinking, she threw the bow and arrows on the ground and tried to lift the dead animal, to somehow carry it on her back. After she finally managed to have a good grip on the animal that was on her back, she slowly started to walk towards the camp, but after a few steps, she threw it on the ground. "This is not working..." She said looking annoyed at the poor creature. The Terrible Terror grabbed the bow and the arrows in its tiny mouth and carried them to where Heather was staying now. "At least you are trying to help." She said looking at the dragon. Half an hour later, she was dragging the boar on the ground, deciding this is the best solution to carry the fat animal back, but it was not the fastest, not by a long shot. After almost another half an hour, she tripped on a root of a tree and fell on her back, releasing a long and angry breath. The small Terror dropped the bow and arrows at her side and quickly approached her head, playfully nudging her, "Thanks, little guy. Or girl." she said, scratching the chin of the dragon.

Heather laid there for a few minutes, looking bored at the sky, until a shadow blocked the sunlight. She turned her head and saw a Deadly Nadder looking confused at her. After she got up, she recognized the Nadder that was near her. "Stormfly!" She said excitedly, at which the dragon greeted her with a discreet bow. "Can I please ask for a favor?"

'What favor?' Stormfly asked, looking confused at her, until she noticed the dead boar a few feet further. 'You want me to help you carry this back?'

"Can you please help me carry this damned furry pig back to camp? Please?"

'You know that I am supposed to check on the dragons that are here?' Stormfly asked.

After almost a minute of silencing sitting and looking at each other, Heather asked. "You are not going to help me, right?"

'No.' Stormfly responded, shocking her head.

"Fine." Heather responded, annoyed. She grabbed the legs of the boar and started to drag it again. "Come little green Terror, you are the only one that helps around here." She said looking for the small dragon, but the Terrible Terror jumped on Stormfly's back and ignored her. "For the love of Thor!" She looked as Stormfly began to walk away and after a few seconds she ran after her. "So...Long time no see..." Heather said, getting in front of Stormfly.

'I won't help you.' The dragon responded with a bored expression.

"You know, maybe we can work something up? What do you say?" Heather asked, starting to scratch the Nadder under her chin. "One extra bucket of fish?"

Stormfly looked like she was thinking about the offer, deciding that she can maybe add a little more to it. 'No.' She said, slowly shocking her head.

"Two?"

'Yes.' Stormfly nodded.

"Deal!" Heather said excited.

The Nadder slowly bowed, allowing Heather to climb on her back. After the girl had safely positioned herself, the dragon carefully took off, then grabbing the boar with her claws. After not even a minute, Stormfly landed in front of the cave.

"Thanks girl. I'll try to get you the extra fish." Heather responded, carefully dismounting, followed by the small green Terror. She looked around the entrance of the cave, not noticing Astrid and Hiccup nearby. Not without effort, she dragged the boar inside the cold cave. She left if near a large log, near the extinguished fireplace. Only Toothless was in the cave with her; and he was sleeping on his previously warmed stone. Heather grabbed a sharp knife that was sitting near a small lot of furs and carefully started to skin the boar. Half an hour later, she was carrying its fur outside the cave, to a few wooden forms. She hung to fur on one of them, then she threw salt on the non-furry side. She was going to let the hide there for a few days to dry itself, then she will put it in a barrel with salt water, to make usable. So in a little more than a week there would be a decent sized hide that is perfect to be used as a small blanket or as a piece of clothing.

Heather then went back to the cave and sat near the extinguished fireplace. After a week spent here, she just couldn't understand why Astrid and Hiccup weren't moving to Jàrnstarfa or Eyhirr to live. This island was colder than both places and this cave wasn't making things any better. It was true that when there was fire was lit, the cave was pretty warm and the smoke went outside because of the uneven ceiling. But they still had to hunt for their food and they still had to gather wood. If they were on one of their villages they could just focus on training vikings and dragons to work together, but by being here for most of the time, they were stuck just flying with their dragons and training to fight. And she still hadn't found a dragon to bond with, so she usually flew with any dragon that wanted to take her.

Meanwhile, Astrid and Hiccup were silently sitting near a rock, on the beach this island had. Hiccup was idle drawing a Deadly Nadder in his journal, while Astrid's hands were lazily hugging Hiccup's chest, a sleepy head on his right shoulder. They had been sitting like this for almost an hour. At first Astrid was curious about what Hiccup was drawing and looked at him as he slowly created small dragons, flying on the paper, but she soon got bored, and in the end, she fell asleep. That happened almost half an hour ago. But Hiccup didn't dared to move or to do anything to disturb her, he actually liked how she clung to him. It made him feel important, even appreciated. Well of course he was important, almost a month ago she just told him that she _loved him_. But everything seemed so _surreal_. The last year was more eventful than his entire life. And he lived in a village that was raided by dragons at least once a week for Thor's sake. A village where he was the weakling, the runt. But now, now he had more than one hundred dragons and almost four hundred vikings that trusted him and that respected him, from _two_ different villages. And he was pretty famous in the Barbaric Archipelago as a Dragon Rider, by the name of Fáfnir. His forces where strong enough to resist any of the big vikings villages, including Berk. So of course he was important. Maybe it was time for the world to know about the two villages that had accepted dragons. That might bring other small villages to join them, making them even stronger; and in the end, maybe they would be strong enough to convince Berk that dragons weren't pests.

Astrid yawned, hugging him tighter.

"Are you sleepy, milady?" Hiccup asked, resuming his drawing.

"A little..." She answered, burrowing her chin into his shoulder.

"You are still sleepy after almost an hour?"

"An hour of what?"

"You fell asleep about an hour ago."

"No, I didn't!" Astrid said a little louder, almost yelling in Hiccup's ear, making him move his head a little.

"What was the last drawing you saw me finish?" Hiccup asked, quickly closing his journal, so that she couldn't look.

"Uhm...A Night Fury?"

"You mean this one?" Hiccup asked, opening his journal to a drawing of a Night Fury he made almost an hour ago.

"Yes. That's the one." Astrid responded, triumphantly.

"And what about these?" Hiccup asked, flipping a few pages forward.

"What about those?"

"When did I make these?" Hiccup asked with a smirk.

"You drew that," Astrid quickly glanced at the sky, "in the past half a hour."

"Did you see me draw this?"

"Of course." Astrid answered with a short, fake laugh.

Hiccup slowly turned his head, gave her a quick peck then they looked at each other's eyes for a few moments, until Hiccup said. "You lie."

"I'll not respond to that."

"It was not a question."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Astrid returning her head to its place on Hiccup's shoulder, watching him continue to draw at a sketch of a Nadder.

"Okay, maybe I feel asleep a little." Astrid admitted.

"You snored." Hiccup said with a laugh.

"I don't snore!" She replied, a little louder than needed.

"At least this time you didn't deny you were asleep."

"It's not my fault you're so comfortable." She replied, earning another laugh from Hiccup.

They sat like that, in silence, for a few more minutes. A cold and salty breeze coming from the sea. The charcoal was idly scratching the paper, adding the last details to the Deadly Nadder. After the drawing was complete enough, Hiccup closed his journal and put it on the ground, near him, before placing the improvised charcoal pencil on top of it.

"Hiccup?" Astrid asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, milady?"

"Do you need something?"

"Something…?"

"Like, more pencils, or a new journal, or even a sword. Anything on those lines." Astrid clarified.

"Not really. Why are you asking?"

"I don't know. I just thought that maybe I could talk to some trader to bring a special command for you."

"Thanks, but I don't need anything in particular."

"Just ask if you do."

A few hours passed, evening came. Toothless was diving towards the sea stack, gracefully flying through the small rocky obstacles. They've done this hundreds of times before, always bringing the adrenaline pumping through their veins. Even more when Astrid was yelling at them that this was too reckless and dangerous, and that they could die if something went wrong. So just because she acted like that, they never told her about those moments when things _did _go wrong and they almost died. No need to worry her. As they were approaching the final rocky obstacle, Hiccup's reactions were a little sloppy and they almost crashed into the rock. Another event on the list of things that _Astrid must not know_.

Toothless started to glide above the sea level, sensing Hiccup's lack of attention and his rather sad attitude. So he asked. 'What's wrong?'

"Nothing." Hiccup shortly responded.

'So we almost crashed into that sea stack because of your lack of reflexes? I've been flying with you on my back for almost an year so don't try to sell my that story.'

"I've just been…thinking."

'About what?'

"My birthday is in a few days."

'So? You won't die of old age of sickness. I've seen vikings way older than you.'

"Of course I won't die of old age." Hiccup replied a little annoyed by his friend's remark. "The problem is that all my birthdays were...bad."

'What do you mean?'

"You know that I didn't have any friends back on Berk. Except Gobber. But he was, well, Gobber. And most of my birthdays I would spend at the forge with him, listening to his old stories and jokes, like most of the days. But on my birthday he would sneak a barrel of mead in the forge and try to get me drunk, but he would always finish the barrel mostly on his own and then he would try to work, always hurting himself. It was funny. Then I would go home, slightly tipsy, trying to hide that from my father. It was rather easy since he only got home when it was almost night and then he would give me a bear hug and a 'happy birthday,' but always with a disappointed look that I hadn't grown bigger or more muscular to be a dragon killing machine. So they were, in a word, lame..."

'So you are sad that you won't hear Gobber's stories anymore?'

"I think I miss Gobber; and I feel bad for abandoning him like I did. But now that Astrid is here, I kind of hoped that it would be different. In a better way. When we were on Berk she ignored me to maintain her imagine and reputation, but she said that she's sorry for that; and I believe her. So I expect her to not know that my birthday is in a few days, but I would feel better if she at least asked or something. I guess that's the problem."

'So you're sad because she didn't ask you when your birthday is?'

"I think so..."

'But what if she already knows when it is?'

"How could she? She never tried to congratulate me or anything before, and I understand why and I'm pass that, but now. Now we are a couple and she said she loves me; and I love her, b-but this lack of interest worries me. What if she likes me, just because I was the only person she saw and talked to for months?"

'I doubt that.'

"Why?"

'She wants to mate with you.'

"Gods...Not again..." Hiccup muttered.

'You never want me to mention that, but it's quite obvious that it's true.'

"It's not!"

'So you don't want her to be your mate?'

"I want—It's just that...We're not talking about!"

'Hiccup...'

"No. We have closed the subject."

'Hiccup, dragons choose mates for life. And so do humans. You vikings have a lot of stupid traditions that forces peoples that don't like each other to be mates. You and Astrid are no longer vikings.'

"Well, not really...I've been condemned to death while she was only banished." Hiccup muttered.

'My point is that not a lot of humans have the chances to choose their own mates.'

"I guess so..."

'While you and Astrid can sit and just hold each other and not get bored. For hours. Your brains are releasing a lot of chemical substances, controlling your emotions for each other. That doesn't happen to a lot of humans, so you should be happy.'

"I guess you're right...Just don't tell Astrid about this conversation."

'Deal.'

"Nor Stormfly."

'Why?'

"Because she'll tell Astrid."

'But what's so bad if Astrid finds out?'

"It's just weird talking about me and Astrid being mates and all that stuff."

'Why?'

"It's...awkward. And all those human traditions and...things. Just don't. We'll figure things out as we go." Hiccup finished as they suddenly began to fly upwards.

Meanwhile, on the island. Astrid entered the cave, looking at Heather as she was playing with Ild and Blad. She knew that Hiccup would be gone at least an hour, Flying with Toothless, but she also knew that they enjoyed flying at night, and since it was evening already, she was sure that they will return later than usual. So now it was the perfect time to talk to Heather. She approached the brunette girl and after a few seconds of hesitation, she said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead!" Heather responded.

"But first, you must promise not to say anything to Hiccup."

"Uhm...Sure." Heather responded after a few seconds of thinking.

"So, Hiccup's birthday is in four days..."

"So you don't want me to tell Hiccup about his birthday?" Heather quickly interrupted.

"Shut up! I'm sure he knows when his birthday is. The problem is that I kept asking him if he wants or needs something, to have an idea what to give him for his birthday, but he never said that he needs anything. So I don't know what he wants."

"So you didn't make anything for his birthday?"

"I talked to Audun, the chief of Jàrnstarfa, to prepare food and drinks to celebrate Hiccup's birthday. There will be merchants and blacksmiths that know him, the first villagers of Jàrnstarfa and some friends of his from the village. So that should be fun. And I also made him this." Astrid answered, getting a small pouch from Stormfly's saddle, that was thrown on the ground, near the sleeping dragon, and passing it to Heather.

The brunette girl quickly opened the pouch and took out a small, black piece of some kind of hard material. She examined it for a few seconds, then she asked. "What is this?"

"That's...That's a scale from Toothless." Astrid began to answer, visibly disappointed by the other's girl reaction. "I carved a few runes on it, that I thought might represent him. To me at least." She finished with a sad voice.

"This is one of Toothless's scales?" Heather asked surprised, carefully handling the trinket. "Power. Honor." She read the runes from a side of it, before turning the scales over. "Love."

"You're right. This is stupid. What was I thinking? Believing that he would like that." Astrid said, more to herself, approaching Heather and trying to take the black scale back, but the other girl quickly blocked Astrid, not allowing her to take the trinket, "What are you doing?" She asked annoyed.

"Astrid. First off, I tried to carve runes into dragon scales before, and I can say that is not an easy job. I even tried to work with Toothless's scales when I had the chance, but I failed; either breaking the knife, or the scale. What you did is very impressive and extremely difficult. Second, Hiccup will love this because it's very well done and its obvious that the runes have a very important meaning to you. To both of you. And he will love this gift because it's from you." Heather said, carefully putting the small trinket back in the pouch and giving it back to Astrid. "You worked hard to make this and he will appreciate that."

"But its just a small trinket. It's not engraved with gold or anything like that. And he saved my life. Just a month ago he saved my life."

"I also helped." Heather quickly pointed out.

"I know, but that's not the point. I mean, is this trinket enough? It doesn't seem like enough!"

"Do you want to give it to him just because that's the tradition? To give him a present just because it's his birthday?"

"Yes. I mean no. I just... I'm afraid that he won't like it."

"Then why do you want to give him this gift?"

"Because that's how I see him. He's a strong person, a honorable one, he's intelligent and a natural leader, just as a Night Fury. And I love him for that." Astrid answered in one breath.

"Then why the heck are you so stressed about this? He'll like it. Stop worrying about it."

"Do you think so?" Astrid asked, somewhat relieved.

"I'm willing to bet my bow father's bow on it." Heather responded.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	25. Years

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. **Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your support for this story.**

* * *

Four days later.

The remaining days to Hiccup's birthday were nothing if not disappointing in his eyes. Even if he knew that the chances were very dim, he still hoped that maybe Astrid would ask him when his birthday was. Just like that. Then he would say that it was in a few days and she would say that she's sorry she hadn't asked sooner and then they would just make out. That would've been perfect for him. But as the days passed by and Astrid showed absolutely no intention in asking him that, he grew sadder. At least no one noticed except Toothless. Or that's what he thought. Even if Astrid didn't said anything about it, she noticed Hiccup's sad attitude for the past couple of days. She intuited the reason behind that and a small chat with Toothless only confirmed her initial guess, so she pretended to not notice, trying not to ruin the surprise, hoping that in the end, it would be all worth it.

Today was his birthday. Hiccup yawned and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake them up. He slowly got in a sitting position, awkwardly stretching, wakening his muscles. The first thing he realized was that neither Toothless nor Stormfly tried to wake him up, notifying him that it was breakfast time, on a closer look, they weren't even in the cave. The second thing he noticed was that Astrid wasn't near him. He yawned again, looking at the burning fire. "Well, happy birthday Hiccup..." He muttered to himself. A few moments later, he heard a yawn a little further, then a voice.

"You're finally awake." Astrid said, slowly getting up from the other side of the fireplace.

"What were you doing?" Hiccup asked confused.

"Waiting for you to get up."

"Where are the dragons?"

"I fed them and now they are outside, sleeping, most likely." Astrid answered, sitting next to Hiccup.

"Why did you make them leave?"

"I know that you always complain about the dragons waking you up, so I fed them, so you could sleep more. And then I didn't crawl next to you because I was afraid that I might wake you up."

"So you did all that so I wouldn't complain about the dragons for one day?"

"Yes. And I also did this." Astrid answered, grabbing her bag from near the fireplace and pulling a small pouch out of it.

"What's that?"

"Well, its for you." Astrid gave Hiccup the small pouch.

The boy opened it curiously, carefully examining the small trinket.

"This is one of Toothless's scales?" Hiccup asked, slowly dragging his finger over the runes.

"Yes. Its a trinket. Do you like it?"

"This is amazing!" Hiccup stated, making Astrid release a small laugh in relief.

"Happy birthday Hiccup!" She suddenly declared, making Hiccup to slowly turn and look at her, surprised.

"H-How did you know?"

"You are the son of Stoick. At each of your birthdays there was a feast, to celebrate the birthday of the chief's son, obvious, so it's kind of hard to forget all those feasts for the past few years, especially since you were missing from most of them. And your birthday is exactly five weeks prior to mine."

"Astrid...That's..."

"And Toothless confirmed it to me. A few days ago." Astrid interrupted him.

Hiccup brought Astrid in a tight hug. It was a weaker way to express his gratitude for her gesture than he initially wanted, but it was the first reaction that came into mind. It seemed more natural, somehow. He never kissed the person that brought him a gift for his birthday before, for obvious reasons, but now he wanted to. So after he released her from the hug, he kissed her, muttering a silent 'thank you' against her lips. They slowly parted after that and Hiccup returned to his careful analysis of the trinket. They sat in silence for a few moments, until Hiccup placed the trinket back into the pouch and the pouch near the fur makeshift bed.

"What are you going to do today?" Hiccup asked, lying back on the furs.

"Well, it's almost past noon, so maybe we should get going to Jàrnstarfa." Astrid responded.

"Can't we just stay here, all day?" Hiccup asked, pulling Astrid closer to him.

"Not really."

"Why?"

"I'm not the only person that knows that your birthday is today. And I kind of promised the others that I would bring you to Jàrnstarfa."

"I just want to spend the day with you."

"We have to go."

"I don't want to go..." Hiccup stated, leaving small kisses along her face.

"We don't have to go _now_. But pretty soon." Astrid said, giving in.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A few hours past noon, Astrid and Hiccup were at one of the forges in Jàrnstarfa. The one where Hiccup usually worked and kept all his prototypes and experiments. Initially, Hiccup wanted to make the trinket Astrid gave him more like a necklace, to be easier to keep it with him, and Astrid just wanted to watch him work. But after they left the forge, Astrid was wearing a small scarf, trying to hide a 'fresh' mark that Hiccup left. They spent another hour walking aimless through the village, until Heather found them. She gave Hiccup a book about all the dragon species known in the Barbaric Archipelago. Like a smaller version of The Book of Dragons from Berk. After that, they walked towards the Great Hall, well, Heather jogged towards the huge building, leaving Astrid and Hiccup behind. It would be a lie if Hiccup said that he wasn't at least a little nervous about the possible outcome of this day. Snotlout used to call his birthday 'The Useless Day'. At least he wouldn't have to hide from Snotlout or to sneak back home this time, so it should be a lot better than how it was on Berk. He suddenly remembered that last year, Snotlout actually ignored Hiccup for a few days before and after his birthday. He looked at Astrid, slightly confused. She _did_ said that she liked him before the whole dragon training thing, so maybe she had _something_ to do with that?

"What?" Astrid asked, noticing his look.

"Exactly an year ago, Snotlout left me alone for a few days. Did you have something to do with that?"

"I don't know what are you talking about." She said, smiling.

"I do believe you do know what I'm talking about."

"Nope. I have no idea."

"Then let me ask you this. Did you beat Snotlout this time of year?"

"I used to beat Snotlout a lot. Even this time of the year." She replied, earning a small laugh from Hiccup.

"It's nice to know that you tried to take care of me even before you had to kill me." Hiccup said, stopping as they reached the Great Hall.

"I still have to kill you." She replied, looking at the huge wooden doors, waiting for Hiccup to show that he's ready to go inside. "The title of _shield-maiden_ is still very important to me."

"Then all I can do is wish you good luck with that, milady." Hiccup replied with a small bow.

"Well, in that case, I'll give you a five minute head start."

"I won't need five minutes." Hiccup proudly stated, bringing his right hand to his mouth and whistling. "_The offspring of lighting and death_ itself will be here to help me."

Astrid looked skeptical at him, until he whistled again, still receiving no response from the Night Fury, then she laughed. "Can't you see? I bribed your Night Fury this morning, that's why you haven't seen him."

"I flew on him here..."

"Shut up." Astrid interrupted, trying not to laugh, "So, I bribed him so he won't help you..." she tried to continue, but she couldn't control her laughing anymore.

"So, you bribed my best friend?!" Hiccup asked, with a fake betrayed expression.

"With fish!"

"With fish?! That's outrageous!" He almost yelled, making Astrid burst out laughing. "And now, you. You laugh in front of your helpless enemy."

"Okay, okay... Now stop." She said, trying to stop laughing.

"But I was liking this." Hiccup states, also starting to laugh.

"Well, I'm happy for you. Now let's go inside." And with that being said, they both opened the huge wooden doors, walking in the Great Hall.

The huge building was finished about a week ago, so this was the first 'official' feast that the Great Hall had the privilege to hold. It took a little more than a month, with the help of dragons, to build it. After Jàrnstarfa got in the same group with the big villages, it was the next logical step to build its own Great Hall, to impress the nearby villages and to have a place for feasts on holidays, or on important visits from other chiefs. The Great Hall was big enough to hold four hundred vikings in it, but now, it was mostly empty. Most of the time, nine great fireplaces were pleasantly warming the hall, but now only two of them were lit. The one in the middle of the hall was the biggest of them all and it was always lit, lighting and warming most of the hall, while small torches hanging from the great stone pillars were lighting the corners the main fireplace couldn't reach. A thing Hiccup found interesting was that there were no tables around the main fireplace, but the other eight smaller fireplaces were surrounded by them. And another thing that he found curious was that there was no main table, reserved only for the chief and his family and closest friends. Audun would always sit at one of the tables near the smaller fireplaces, with the rest of the villagers, showing that they were all equals, showing respect to each and every one of them. And maybe that's why there aren't any tables around the main fireplace, to show that in the end, everyone is equal.

Astrid and Hiccup were slowly walking towards the other lit fireplace, in the furthest corner of the hall. Hiccup noticed that there were only about forty people there. He glanced confused at Astrid, who grabbed his hand and said.

"I insisted on calling only the persons you consider friends. And I also insisted on that fireplace since there will be other vikings coming here for dinner and they won't disturb us. Probably."

"Can I ask who is there? Or is that also a 'surprise'?" Hiccup asked with a small smile. Happy that Astrid thought about everything.

"Audun and his family, obviously. The other vikings that were here when you first arrived. Potet and Horkman, with whom you share the forge, and their families. The small group that you are teaching taking care of the dragons. And there is also Fredrick."

"The trader?"

"Yes. And there is also his crew, I hope you won't mind them."

"That's it?"

"Well, there is also Heather and my father." Astrid said. Then she added after a small pause. "I know that you don't really like events like this, but I promise that it will be fun."

"I wish Gobber was here..." Hiccup stated, just before Bjørn, Audun's son, started walking towards them, with the intention to be the first one to greet them.

"Hiccup! You finally decided to show up." Bjørn said, stopping in front of them. He gave Hiccup a sheathed sword. Hiccup unsheathed the sword, examining the blade.

"Thanks. " He said, with a small smile, "Is this a roman sword?" then he asked, admiring the weapon.

"This, my friend, is a roman gladius, one of the most used and practical swords."

"How did you get one?" Astrid asked surprised.

"I killed a roman for one." Bjørn simply said. The three of them laughed at Bjørn's comment. "Well, its yours now. Happy birthday pal." He said, giving Hiccup an amicable, punch in the shoulder.

At least it was 'amicable' for a normal viking, Hiccup stumbled a step backwards, before trying to give a friendly punch back. He was used to a lot of punches from Astrid, who was a rather strong person, but she was still not even close to Bjørn's stature. Bjørn was a lot taller than Hiccup and visibly muscular, he had a small, brown beard covering his face and short hair. He just looked like a typical viking of his age. He was twenty four, just eight years older than Hiccup, and he treated him and Astrid like little siblings, always taking care of them. He even cried when he found out about Astrid's injury. An annoying thing about the young viking was that he sometimes underestimated his own strength, and that usually led to situations like this. And his mental capacity was somewhat questionable, but he never made a big deal out of it, accepting his lower intellect and knowing when to shut up and when to follow orders. In the end, he most likely wouldn't be the next chief for Jàrnstarfa, but he accepted that fact and even encouraged his father to chose a new heir. So in the end, making Bjørn a lot more clever than he looked.

The trio walked towards the loud group surrounding the fireplace. Most of the vikings stopped and looked at Hiccup, quickly assaulting him with wishes and small gifts, most of them axes and other weapons. At least maybe Astrid would like the weapons, he thought.

After everyone seemed to finish with him, Hiccup sat at a small table, near Bjørn. He grabbed an apple from a bowl and started chewing on it, looking for Astrid. After the vikings assaulted him, she just abandoned him; and now she was nowhere to be found. At least that would make his escape easier. He knew that vikings really had an appetite for mead; and by the looks of it, they already started without him, so in about an hour or two, they'd be too drunk to notice he was missing. He smiled to himself, eating his apple, then a tankard was placed on the table, in front of him. He looked confused at it, noticing Astrid sitting near him, with her own tankard.

"It's time for you to taste mead." She said, looking expectancy at him.

"I drank mead before." Hiccup responded, continuing to eat his apple.

"I don't believe you."

"Ask Gobber."

"You drank mead with Gobber? Of all people?" Astrid asked surprised and Hiccup simply gave her an 'are you seriously asking this' look. "Sorry. But my point is that Gobber gets drunk very easy and once he's drunk you can't shut him up with his stories."

"You forgot that when he's drunk he's also very clumsy and always manages to hurt himself. And anyway, I drank mead before with Gobber."

"And don't you want to drink with me?" She asked, with a sad tone.

"I...Just..." He glances at her, noticing her sad 'puppy' eyes, "Oh, what the heck." He said, taking the tankard from the table, at which Astrid smiles.

"You'll get drunk today, Hiccup."

"You wish." He replies simply, raising their tankards. "Skol."

"Skol." Astrid replies, both drinking from their respective tankards.

Almost a hour had passed and Hiccup had to admit that he was having a better time than he initially thought he would. He mostly blamed the mead and Astrid for that. But also the way the vikings were yelling at each other in rhymes really amused him. He wondered how many tankards would he have to drink to get in their state. But would he even want to get in their state? It's way more funnier to look at them how they stumble and how they sing. He continued to sip from his mead, quickly glancing at Astrid as she devoured a chicken leg. He couldn't abstain a laugh, making Astrid glare at him.

"What?" She asked with a full mouth.

"Nothing." Hiccup quickly responded, but Astrid was looking unconvinced at him. "It's just that... The way the vikings were stumbling and singing."

"No." Astrid said, pointing the mostly empty chicken bone threatening towards Hiccup. "You looked at me, and then you laughed. So I did something that amused you. Spit it out Haddock!"

"You were just brutally eating that chicken leg..." Hiccup tried to defend himself.

"So the fact that I'm satisfying my hunger amuses you?"

"Not really..."

"Then?"

"Well, you just looked 'adorable' with your mouth full trying to force the chicken down with mead."

"Oh." Astrid exclaimed, delivering a weak punch to Hiccup's shoulder. "You know that I can't be mad at you when you call me 'adorable'." She stated, slightly amused by his excuse.

"Of course. And this punch was just your way to express your love towards me." Hiccup said sarcastically, rubbing his shoulder.

"Exactly." Another punch to the shoulder.

"Stop that!" Hiccup said, grabbing her hand.

Astrid gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "Is this better?" she asked, looking at his surprised expression.

"Uh... Y-Yes. Of course. Of course t-this is better." And she started laughing. "Do I amuse you, milady?"

"You are stuttering."

"So?"

"It had been a while since you stuttered when you talked to me."

"I never stuttered when I talked to you."

"That's alright. I always found it cute."

"I'm so happy that you find me 'cute'." Hiccup said sarcastically, just now noticing how close they were. They glanced at each other's eyes, quickly looking away after that, creating a situation more awkward that it needed to be, considering their past together.

"I like that you're cute." Astrid stated, slowly turning to face him.

"I could go with 'cute'." Hiccup said, slowly facing her. They were looking at each other, sharing a small, content laugh, not noticing that most of the vikings stopped their drunken dance and songs and were looking at them. Nothing else mattered at the moment for the young couple, and in a subconscious action Hiccup carefully brushed a strand of hair from Astrid's face behind her ear, earning a smile from her.

But their 'moment' brutally ended, bringing them back to reality when a rather drunk Heather started to yell 'Kiss! Kiss', clapping her hands, matching her words. A few seconds after that, the rest of the vikings joined Heather, urging the couple to kiss. A simple moment when Astrid and Hiccup were content, even happy with each other, a moment that allowed them to appreciated the powerful magic of a simple touch, was once again ruined by a group of impulsive savages that lived in the Barbaric Archipelago.

Hiccup glanced slightly annoyed at the drunk vikings, trying to save some crumbs from their previous moment, but Astrid brought back his attention when she said. "Want to give them something to look at?"

Hiccup's eyes widened and he didn't said anything until Astrid started approaching, "I'm worried that your father might get mad if we make out like this." he said in one breath.

"It's not like he doesn't know about us."

"Yes, but if he's as impulsive as you, I don't want to make out with you in front of him, especially after he had a few tankards of mead, which I'm sure he did."

"You might look more 'manly' with a scar. I thought you'd like that." Astrid chuckled.

"I don't want a..." Hiccup was interrupted by Astrid's lips. They shared a small kiss, accompanied of whistles and laughing from the other vikings. Astrid backed away after not even ten seconds, leaving Hiccup with a slightly disappointed look on his eyes. But his expression quickly lightened up before he said. "I think you just saved my life."

Astrid laughed at him. "You owe me."

"I guess." Hiccup awkwardly responded.

More than a hour had passed. The vikings inside the Great Hall were still dancing and drinking and singing, just like in the past few hours. Some villagers came to the Great Hall to get their dinner, some of them joined the others near the isolated fireplace, while some of them went back to their homes, preparing for the cold night. Nothing else of importance had happened in the meantime, as far as Astrid and Hiccup could say. But they'd been outside the Great Hall for the past twenty minutes, far from the too curious eyes of the other vikings. Funnily enough, the entrance of the great building was empty. The cold wind and the snow keeping most of the vikings inside their houses and near the fires. Luckily for the young couple, the entrance of the Great Hall was covered by a small roof, preventing the snow from falling on them, and the small statues at the end of the staircase provided a small protection against the wind.

It's funny that this started almost half a hour ago when Hiccup said that he didn't like to owe people anything and then they went outside to pay the 'debt'. Now he was sitting near the platform of one of the statues, with Astrid on his lap, both lost in their little world at the moment. If it wasn't for the small roof and the statues, they'd probably freeze before they would even feel the cold.

Except from their breaths and the occasional cry of a crow, the world outside the Great Hall was very quiet. Sometimes a gust of wind would blow the falling snowflakes towards them, disturbing them, but they would quickly resume their previous actions, ignoring the nature that tried to stop them. So far, this day was possibly one of Hiccup's best days. Being on Jàrnstarfa, having fun with people that respected him, drinking mead with Astrid, spending time with her. He smiled against her lips, just before a surprised voice said, "Astrid?" making them suddenly depart and look at the intruder. It was Cuyler, Astrid's father. Well, this day just fell a few places.

"Dad?!" Astrid exclaimed surprised, quickly getting up, almost losing her balance at her sudden action. Hiccup quickly followed after her.

"What are you two doing here?" Cuyler asked.

"We were just..." Astrid tried to respond.

"Forget that. I know what you were doing, what I meant is _why_ are you making out here?"

"Because...Uhm...Vikings."

"What vikings?"

"In the hall they were all looking with this knowing grin..."

"Just get back inside before you freeze out here. And I need to talk with you tomorrow. To both of you" Cuyler interrupted, walking inside the Great Hall.

"Why?" Astrid asked, following him. "It's not like this is the first time you caught us like this. And it's not like we were doing something, _bad. _We didn't..."

"No, it's not. And this is not about that. We'll talk tomorrow when you two are both sober and capable of understanding what I'm saying. For now, just have fun." Cuyler finished, giving Astrid a pat on the back.

"I don't like the sound of that." Hiccup said, staying near Astrid.

"Last one to fill his tankard is a sheep tick." Astrid said, quickly running at the table, leaving a confused Hiccup behind.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hours had passed and the moon was already starting to make its appearance. Some vikings bid their farewells and went home, intending to not pass out on some random tables in the Great Hall. In the end, Hiccup really enjoyed himself, but the more he tried to keep up drinking with the others, the more he realized that he reached his limit. He didn't have the 'experience' the other had and he never drank that much with Gobber, so he decided it was his time to quit, not wanting to make a fool of himself by passing out somewhere. He discreetly excused himself, saying that he wanted to go and pee, but instead he went to the inn, where he knew that they had a permanently reserved room only for him and Astrid.

With some minor struggle he arrived at the inn. He was a little surprised that it was empty, but he didn't tried to insist on the subject, so he went to his room, then, after a few failed tries, he finally managed to ignite the small fireplace, after that, he threw his boots near the bed and climbed in it, wrapping himself in the warm furs. Even if he was slightly tired before, now that he was warm and comfortable, the sleep just flew away, leaving him awake, dizzy and dazing at the fire. He knew that if he drank too much he could feel nauseous, making him feel horrible the following day, but luckily for him, he never got to that point. Even now, after taking more than ten minutes for a walk that would usually take less than three and feeling dizzy as heck, he still felt 'nice' overall. Maybe his resistance was higher than he thought, or maybe he just got lucky somehow.

Almost half an hour later, the door to Hiccup's room burst open, allowing a slightly drunk Astrid to enter the room. As soon as she noticed the small fire and Hiccup lying on the bed, she cursed under her breath and carefully closed the door. Then she approached the bed and kneeled near it, looking at Hiccup's calm expression.

"Hey babe." She said, gently caressing his hair, "We were looking for you for the past twenty minutes. If you just wanted to go to sleep, you could've just said so. We wouldn't have minded," she continued, waiting for him to respond, but when he didn't, she just sighed, "At least I hope you had a good time with us. I had fun. Maybe we could do this again, sometime. If you want, of course. Anyway, I'll let you sleep now." she finished, kissing his forehead before getting up.

"It was fun." Hiccup responded when he heard Astrid open the door to leave.

"So you weren't asleep, after all?" She asked, staying near the door.

"No, I wasn't asleep. And yes, we should do this again sometime." Hiccup responded, still laying in the bed.

"Are you feeling nauseous? Do you want me to let you sleep?"

"No. I'm just dizzy as heck."

"Then what are you doing here?" She asked, walking towards him.

"I'm waiting for it to pass."

"Why?"

"Because it's annoying."

"But the dizziness is the best part about being drunk. Everything seems a lot more interesting and fun."

"I almost tripped on the stairs when I got here." Hiccup complained.

"And wasn't it fun?!"

"Astrid, you should get some sleep, you're not making sense anymore."

She didn't replied, instead, she sat on the edge of the bend and slowly leaned over him, starting to kiss him deeply. They were just laying like that for almost half a minute, until Astrid suddenly got up and ran to the door.

"If you want that to continue then get your lazy ass out of that fricking bed!" She almost yelled at a confused Hiccup that was looking at her like she was nuts. Then she walked outside, giggling at the confused look Hiccup gave her.

After a few moments of trying to understand what just happened, Hiccup got up from the bed and started searching for his boots. "Why am I even putting up with her?" He muttered.

"Because you love me!" Astrid yelled in response, making Hiccup laugh.

In less than a minute, Hiccup slowly walked outside of his room, closing the door after him. He looked down the long hallway of the inn, expecting to see Astrid somewhere, but he was a little surprise when he didn't. It was already night outside, so the only light in the whole hallway came from a small window that allowed the moonlight to sneak in, but that was only at the opposite end of the hallway. So Hiccup slowly walked towards the end of the hallway, where the stairs leading down to the dining area were. He was rather confused, Astrid was just yelling after him a few moments ago, and now she just disappeared; and the graveyard silence wasn't making things any better. When he almost reached the staircase Hiccup felt two hands falling on his shoulders, so he jumped, quickly turning around to look at a giggling Astrid.

"What the heck is..." He wanted to yell at Astrid, but she quickly interrupted him by kissing him. After almost half a minute she ended the kiss just as sudden as she started it, laughing at Hiccup's confused and disappointed expression.

"Grab a candle and come in the kitchen after that." She urged him, quickly running down the stairs, almost tripping at the last few steps, but graciously managing to recover. She quickly glanced at an amused Hiccup looking down the stairs after her. "Don't you dare say anything about that."

"Promise." Hiccup responded, discreetly laughing while carefully walking down the stairs, after her. He noticed her walking in the kitchen, then he started to look in the dining hall for a candle. When he finally found one, he lit it at the almost extinguished fireplace in the room and walked after Astrid. He was expecting her to assault him again, but instead he found her trying to open a large barrel and cursing under her breath.

"Shit..." She muttered once she managed to open the barrel.

"What?" Hiccup asked confused, grabbing a small wooden bowl and placing the candle in it.

"This is only water, just like the other one." She answered, going to the next barrel.

"What exactly are you looking for?"

"Mead."

"Why?"

"To make a friking cake! Why do you think I'm looking for mead?" Astrid replied slightly annoyed, managing to open the barrel.

"I really doubt that you could make a cake with mead. Maybe a pie, but not a cake." Hiccup said sarcastically, making Astrid laugh.

"Anyway, give me a tankard." Astrid said and Hiccup complied. Astrid then filled the tankard with the liquid in the barrel and passed it to Hiccup. "Drink." She ordered.

Hiccup slowly sniffed at the drink, than asked. "Is this wine?"

"Yes."

"But I hate wine."

"How could you if you never drank wine before? We can't make any, and the only one that is available comes from the raiding parties from the south. And even that one is expensive."

"My dad is the chief of Berk." Hiccup reminded her. "And he got a lot of gifts and things like that from different traders. And I might had tried a few of those things."

"Just sit down." Astrid ordered, taking the tankard from Hiccup; and the boy complied again, sitting down near a wall. Astrid quickly sat near him, leaning on his side, making Hiccup put his arm around her, bringing her closer. "Are you sure that wine tastes bad?" Astrid asked after a few moments of silence.

"I don't like it. But feel free to drink, if you want." Hiccup answered, looking at Astrid as she tried the new drink.

"You know, actually, this is not that bad." Astrid stated, taking another sip.

Then Hiccup slowly took the tankard from her hands, ignoring the fact that she was glaring daggers at him, and he also took a sip. "Nope. Still as bad as I remember." Hiccup said, finally noticing Astrid's glare. "What?"

"That's _my_ tankard." She simply but promptly answered.

"We can share it."

"Of course that we can, since its not _yours_."

"I'll pay you for it."

"How?"

Hiccup leaned closer to her and kissed her. At first, Astrid tried to remain stubborn, to not give him the satisfaction of giving up on her tankard so easily, but she quickly failed, kissing him back. After almost a minute Hiccup pulled back a little, to be able to talk. "Is this a good payment method, milady?" He asked with a small smile.

"You have sweet lips." Astrid suddenly declared.

"I... Thanks... I guess..." Hiccup awkwardly replied, at which Astrid backed away a little.

"Did I say that out loud?"

Hiccup nodded.

"Gods... I didn't meant to say that..."

"You know, it's actually a good thing that you said that."

"How is that good?!"

"Because now when I kiss you, I don't have to worry about the taste..." Astrid elbowed him.

"Shut up!"

"Am I not allowed to tease my girlfriend?"

"No!" She elbowed him again.

"What did I do?" Hiccup asked confused.

"You cheated."

"What? When?"

"The price wasn't fair and now you stole my tankard." This time she punched him.

"Gods, woman! Stop that! And I didn't steal it, that price was for sharing."

"Good!" Astrid said, snatching the tankard from near Hiccup.

"I'll go and grab my own tankard." Hiccup said after a few moments of silence, trying to get up.

But Astrid pulled him back down, passing him her tankard. "No, it's okay. We'll share."

"That's _so_ kind of you, milady." Hiccup said, making himself comfortable against the wooden wall. "It's not like you hit me three times..."

"I'll hit you again if you keep complaining!" Astrid interrupted him.

"Point taken." Hiccup said, taking another sip. "What are we doing here, again?"

"Stealing wine from the kitchen."

"I noticed that, but why are we still _here_? We already have the wine, we could go back in the room, where is not freezing like here."

"You _do_ have a point." Astrid said, slowly getting up, followed by Hiccup. They were both walking outside the kitchen when Astrid suddenly turned and punched Hiccup's shoulder.

"Why did you do that?!" Hiccup groaned, rubbing his shoulder.

"I told you that I'd hit you if you kept complaining."

"I wasn't complaining! I was suggesting!"

"Are you complaining now?" Astrid said, raising her fist.

"What?! Not!"

"You _are_ complaining."

"Astrid, I am pretty sure I'm not..." And he ran past her, leaving a surprised and amused Astrid behind.

"He's unpredictable when he's drunk, I'll give him that." Astrid said to herself, walking towards their room.

As she entered the room, she saw Hiccup laying in the bed, facing at the almost extinguished fire. She grabbed a log from near the wall and tossed it in the fire pit. Then she walked near the bed, crouching so she can look Hiccup in the face. After a few seconds of silence, Hiccup half opened one eye, looking at Astrid.

"You wouldn't hit a sleeping man, wouldn't you?" He asked, making Astrid chuckle.

"Not if he makes some room so that I could also sleep." She said, pushing him and getting under the furs. Hiccup quickly covered her with the furs and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks." Hiccup simply said, leaving a small kiss on her temple.

"What for?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know what you thanked me for?"

"For being you, I guess."

"That's cheesy." Astrid said, giggling.

"I know. But it's true. You have no idea how much this day meant for me. Just thinking about how you managed to talk to Audun about this and even make a trinket for me and all that behind my back. And then you even tried to make this a surprise. I don't even know how to begin to thank you."

"You looked happy, that's enough." Astrid said smiling, squeezing his hand.

"I love you." He whispered, burying his nose in her hair.

"I love you too, dork."

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	26. Treachery

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. **Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your support for this story.**

* * *

The next day, Cuyler slowly opened the giant wooden doors of the Great Hall, allowing himself to get outside the great stone building. He took a deep breath, inhaling the cold morning air. It was freezing outside, the wind and the snow making it difficult to see a few feet in front of him. It was funny how in just two days the weather changed from cold, but still rather sunny, to a literal blizzard. And this looked like only a small sample of the winter that was to come, but at least this time they had dragons. Well, two villages had dragons. And they also managed to stockpile firewood, food and pelts in the last few months, again, with the help of dragons, making things a lot easier for the impending winter. He couldn't stop but to think how dragons would've made things easier in the previous winters. Actually they would've made everything a lot easier. This Great Hall was built in more than a month with the help of dragons; without them, the same construction would've taken at least a few years, and that was only if there weren't any errors or complications, which was very unlikely in their vikings society. In moments like those he felt very proud of Hiccup and really honored that he was part of the small group that tried to change the viking traditions for the better.

He started walking towards the inn, where he was sure that Astrid and Hiccup were since they both left the Great Hall last night. He trudged through the blizzard that was outside, greeting the other villagers that were stupid enough to get out of their houses at the time. When he opened the inn's doors, the sudden gust of wind brought snow inside the building, making a few vikings to glare, annoyed at Cuyler. They were probably visitors, since no villager that knew him would've done that in their place, knowing his role in this village and in the small group that tried to show that dragons weren't evil, so he ignored them. The inn was a lot warmer than outside, the small fireplace in the middle of the room made sure of that. A strong smell of stew reminded him that he hadn't ate anything that morning. Maybe he should talk to Farouk to make some food for the kids before he went to their room. But the inn looked crowded enough and he didn't really want to give Farouk some extra work now, especially since Astrid and Hiccup usually ate at the Great Hall. He was heading to the stairs that lead to the living quarters when he heard someone calling him.

"Cuyler? Is that you, old friend?" A voice with a strong accent said. He turned around and looked at the bulky viking that called him.

"Great..." Cuyler muttered, slowly approaching the man.

"Ha-ha! I haven't seen you in ages! What are you doing here?!" The bulky viking said.

Cuyler sighed, "Hello to you too, Alvin." There was the tiniest hint of malice in his throat. "I have a room at the inn. And I'm..."

"That's great!" Alvin interrupted, delivering a friendly punch to the shoulder. "What is my old nemesis, Stoick, doing?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I haven't..."

"I've heard he banished his son, for allying himself with the beasts," Alvin interrupted again.

Cuyler looked shocked at him for a few seconds. "Who told you that?"

"I have my little bird, with its sheep. And I've also heard that he banished the pride of Berk, your little pearl, your..." Alvin began to say, but Cuyler delivered a quick punch to his face, visibly angry.

"How the heck do you know about Astrid?!" He yelled at the bulky viking.

"Astrid. Hah! Beautiful name." Alvin said, checking his nose to see if it was bleeding, and to his surprise, it was. He cupped it, to assess the damage. "And I know a lot of things. Including the bounty that is on her as well."

"Stay away from her!" Cuyler threatened.

"I don't even know where she is. But by your reactions, I think that you do. Don't worry, I don't care for a few gold nuggets, I am a honest farmer." Alvin said with a smirk, looking at an angry Cuyler walking up the stairs, trying to keep calm. "Savage! I want you to find out where this 'Astrid' girl is. Maybe the innkeeper knows, I'm sure he'll sing like a bird." Alvin ordered, laughing and resuming drinking the mead he put aside when he noticed Cuyler. Things might take an odd turn in his favor.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

An hour earlier, Astrid slowly woke up and yawned. The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't feeling 'that' bad. There was an annoying headache and a small feeling of nausea, but not even close to what she was expecting. She tried to stretch but she stopped when she almost elbowed Hiccup. She tried to escape his sleepy grip to get up.

"Don't do that..." He muttered when she started moving, making her stop for a few seconds before she managed to get out of bed..

"Let's go and eat." Astrid said, staying near the bed and looking at him.

"No..."

"Come on, what's wrong?"

"My head is killing me..." Hiccup replied, covering his head.

"You think you're the only one that has a hangover?!"

"I never drank enough to have a hangover before..." He groaned annoyed. Usually he liked when Astrid was persistent about something, since it showed that she cared, but now, he really wished that she would just let him to sleep. Or at least be quiet.

"Well, first time for everything. Now, come on!" Astrid ordered, still yelling.

"Astrid, I beg you, please let me sleep."

"Hiccup, you need to eat something. And water. You can't stay in bed all day!" Astrid said, pulling his hand, trying to make him get up, but he wasn't moving. "Do you think that on Berk we could've rested after a hangover?"

"This is not Berk..."

"Yes, but…you're right," She sighed, releasing his hand. "You won't be able to sleep, the headache won't let you. And you need to eat; and water, you'll also need water. I'll go get some for you."

"Take your time." Hiccup replied, hearing Astrid close the door after she left.

She quickly ran down the hallway and into the kitchen, noticing the innkeeper cursing the gods while trying to make a soup or something. She then noticed that the tankard they left on the floor the night before was gone now, and so was the bowl with the candle. Maybe she shouldn't bring that up.

"Farouk." She called after him.

"Astrid! Had you been here last night?" The innkeeper promptly asked.

"No. Why? What happened?"

"Someone broke into the kitchen and stole wine. I spent good money to get that. I swear I'll gut the unlucky bastard that did that!"

"Good luck…um, catching the thief," Astrid hesitantly said. "But, anyway, can I please get a tankard with water and some bread?"

"Why?"

"F-For breakfast."

"I'll bring them at a table for you two in a few minutes." Farouk said, returning to his cooking.

"Well, Hiccup is still sleeping because he isn't feeling very well, so I thought that I might as well bring breakfast to our room. If you don't mind. We'll bring the tankard back down after that."

"Suit yourself." Farouk simply answered.

Astrid walked past him and picked up the first tankard she noticed. She went at one of the barrels that were already opened, knowing which one had water in it, and filled the tankard. Then she went to the small table that had a basket with warm breads in it. She picked one and split it in two, putting the smaller half back in the basket. Then she thanked Farouk and walked back to their room with the water and the bread.

She quietly entered the room, looking at Hiccup wrapping himself in furs.

"I brought you water and food," Astrid said softly, walking near the bed and sitting on its edge. She felt a little sorry for him. She was the one that kept urging him to drink mead, and later wine. Maybe if he hadn't drank that wine, he wouldn't feel so bad now. And she should definitely tell him about the 'thief' that stole wine from Farouk.

"Thanks..." Hiccup said, noticing her presence but not making a move.

"Are you feeling nauseous?"

"A little..."

"So, here's what were are going to do. I'll help you get up and then you'll drink some water and take a few bites, then you'll lie back down and try to sleep." Astrid said, putting the tankard and the bread on the small table in the corner.

"No..." Hiccup muttered.

"Yes." Astrid said, trying to pull Hiccup in a sitting position.

"Astrid, I just want to sleep."

"Hiccup, trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"But..."

"You don't really have a choice in this." She interrupted him.

Hiccup sighed and allowed Astrid to help him get up. He knew that she was stubborn and now he was in no condition to fight her back, so might as well try to get over with it as fast as possible. He was now sitting at the edge of the bed, looking aimlessly on the floor. Astrid quickly got up and brought him water, but Hiccup just took the tankard and looked dully at it, until Astrid urged him to drink. In the end, he slowly complied. After just a few sips of the cold, refreshing liquid, the pulsating headache and the nausea were almost gone. In just a matter of seconds, half of that tankard was already gone.

"I might also want some water, you know." Astrid said, slightly amused.

"Sorry," Hiccup said, giving her the tankard. "It is normal for the water to taste so... refreshing?"

"Yes." Astrid said, also taking a few sips of the water. "It tastes like the coolest water from the most isolated spring. This is one of the pros of getting drunk, the taste of water the following morning."

Hiccup chuckled at her comment, before he said. "Thank you, for doing this."

"You should be happy that it isn't my father who takes care of you."

"Why?"

"Well, Hiccup, let me tell you a story." Astrid said, sitting near him on the bed. "After my first serious drinking time, I came home..."

"Your first serious drinking time'? When was that? You're only fifteen." Hiccup interrupted.

"I'm almost sixteen, thank you very much. And that was about two years ago. Anyway, I came home and..."

"You got really drunk when you were almost fourteen? How?! My dad never let me touch any mead."

"Shut up, I'm trying to tell a story here! And you drank wine!" She said. "And my parents didn't really 'let me'..."

"That make sense."

"Just let me finish my story. You can ask question after."

"Fine. Continue."

"So, I got home and my parents noticed that I was drunk, it was not like I could hide it or anything. I was barely able to walk straight. Anyway, my mom was yelling at me, saying that I was too young to drink mead and that I was irresponsible and all that stuff, but then my dad interrupted her, saying that most likely I won't remember anything she said and that they might as well take care of me. So they helped me go upstairs, to my room, and they brought me a bucket and some water, telling me to drink the water if I'm thirsty and to puke on the bucket to not make a mess on the floor. Then they left. I was feeling very nauseous, but I still tried not to vomit, since, well, it sucks when you vomit."

"Yes." Hiccup confirmed.

"Anyway, I somehow managed to fall asleep, keeping the clean bucket near my bed in case of something. The following morning, I felt horrible. A lot worse than how I was feeling the previous night. Almost certainly a lot worse than how you are feeling. I just sat in bed for half an hour, or something like that, until my dad entered the room carrying a tankard. He said that if I drink more mead when I'm hungover, I will feel a lot better after that. So I made the mistake to believe him and I drank half of that tankard in a few seconds. Then I puked. Everywhere."

"That's... Just..." Hiccup began to say, laughing a little.

"But the joke was on him! Because he had to clean after me and I ended sleeping in their bedroom for the rest of the day. And the following day came a long talk about being responsible and things like that."

"So, the moral of the story is, don't drink mead when you're hungover."

"Exactly. Now eat this." Astrid said, grabbing the bread and tossing it to Hiccup.

"But I'm not hungry."

"Did I ask you if you're hungry?"

"Uhm..."

"No," she answered in his place, "I told you to eat this," she ordered, threatening him. "So, what are you waiting for?"

"Should I really eat when I'm feeling nauseous?"

"You are feeling nauseous because of the mead; and the wine, probably. Just take a few bites then go back to sleep, you'll feel better after that."

"You're kind of bossy now, you know that?" Hiccup sarcastically asked, ripping a small piece of bread and eating it.

"You were also kind of bossy when you took care of me," Astrid retorted.

"I was not."

"You promised me that you'd teach me how to ride Stormfly; and after the arrow injury you went back on your word."

"You had a frickin' arrow through your leg!"

"I know, but even after I healed you didn't want to train me."

"I was being overprotective, not bossy. There is a difference."

"Would you prefer if I shoved that bread down your throat and then forced you to drink all that water?!"

"Uhm... Good point." Hiccup said, giving the almost untouched bread back to Astrid.

"I always make good points." She said, taking a few bites of the bread before putting it on the table. She turned around and looked at Hiccup, now that he laid back in the bed and wrapped himself in furs. She walked near the bed and coughed in her hand, making Hiccup to look confused at her.

"What?" He asked.

"Would you be so kind to move a little further and share those furs?" Astrid asked with an exaggerated sweet voice.

"Why, of course, milady."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cuyler stopped in front of the door, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself. That man always managed to get on his nerves. He had a special talent to bring him to the verge of rage. Always making fun of others and trying to know everyone's secrets. But he was also an excellent warrior who always had a plan 'B' in mind. Maybe that was the only reason that he was still alive. But then again, he was also Stoick's closest friend, at least until he disobeyed Stoick's orders, causing a few serious injuries to a few vikings in the village; making Stoick banish him, which was good. Alvin was nothing but a trouble maker. And in just twenty years he managed to create a tribe with the rejects and outcasts of other tribes. He had to admit that Alvin was a very intelligent man, but also very brutal and reckless, in the end, making a very unpredictable opponent. And now he was here on Jàrnstarfa, threatening his daughter. How the heck did he even managed to find him? Or her? And _why_?

Cuyler sighed, annoyed. This morning just became a lot more difficult.

He slowly opened the door and entered the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. He noticed there was a tankard on the table and some bread. At least they woke up before, so their hangover wouldn't be that bad. Then he looked at them, both sleeping. Astrid was clinging on Hiccup's back, her face buried in his shoulder. A few months ago he would've killed Hiccup if he caught them like this. But in time, he grew a liking to the boy. It's true that he wasn't the typical viking, but he was very stubborn and that's how far the similarities went. He was clever, brave and always as objective as possible. He was a born leader and open minded. He had two villages under his command and a dragon army for Thor's sake. But what really counted for him was the fact that Hiccup took care of Astrid and made her happy. Those two simple facts made him feel like this was the right decision.

Cuyler slowly walked near the bed and nudged Hiccup, trying to wake him up, "You slept enough. Both of you," he said, making Astrid groan and cover her face with Hiccup's arm.

"Five more minutes..." Hiccup murmured.

"In two minutes I'll be back with a bucket with cold water."

"Fine!" Astrid almost yelled, forcing herself to leave Hiccup's warm side and get up in a sitting position.

"Do you think you are able to have a normal conversation now?"

"I was drunk yesterday, now it's only a hangover." Astrid answered, a little too harshly.

"Good. Hiccup?"

"Yes. The same." The boy said, covering his head with the pillow.

"I'll still go after that bucket."

"Can't you just talk with Astrid? She'll tell me everything later." Hiccup said, earning a punch from Astrid.

"I need to talk with both of you." Cuyler answered, looking at Hiccup as he sleepily tried to get up. When he finally managed to sit near Astrid, he slowly leaned his head on her shoulder and yawned. At least they weren't that uncomfortable around him anymore.

"This is what you meant when you said yesterday that you wanted to talk with us?" Astrid asked, ignoring Hiccup.

"Yes." Cuyler said, and after a few moments he sighed. He really hoped that this was the right decision. "Astrid, as you know, you are turning sixteen in five weeks."

"Yes, so?"

"That means that you finally are at a marriageable age."

Astrid widened her eyes and quickly glanced at a surprised Hiccup that rose his head from her shoulder.

"There isn't a contract or anything, right?" Hiccup quickly asked.

"No." Cuyler answered and the two teens sighed in relief. "And I wouldn't do a contract without Astrid's permission, anyway."

"Then what's the problem?" Astrid asked.

"Most girls your age are already betrothed and are supposed to get married soon after their birthday. But then again, most girls your age aren't banished from the biggest village in the archipelago and don't tame dragons."

"I don't understand where this is going." Hiccup interjected.

"My point is that if a girl isn't married by the time she is twenty, she most likely will never marry. She'll become a shield maiden or something like that. But you, Astrid, you had been banished, so you're not a viking anymore, that means you can't become a shield maiden like you always wanted. But knowing that you are already in a relationship with Hiccup, means that you could get married, but not in a traditional way, with a contract and all that nonsense."

"S-So you want me to marry Hiccup?" Astrid asked, a smile slowly appearing on her face.

"You won't be marrying him, officially, since you can't. Neither one of you are vikings anymore, since you were banished. But you can still get married through a contract, but only with a _real_ viking; and by doing that you would recover your status of viking, if that's what you want."

"So, we _can_ get married but at the same time we _can't_ get married?" Hiccup asked confused.

"You _can't _get married with the blessing of the gods and you _can't_ have a real wedding ceremony. But you can act like you are married."

"I still don't really understand what you are saying." Astrid said, making Cuyler sigh, a little annoyed.

"I'll reject any further contracts and I'll give you my blessing, if that is what you both want."

"Really?!" Astrid almost yelled.

"Yes." Cuyler answered, looking slightly amused at Astrid bringing Hiccup in a tight hug. The poor boy was still shocked. It took him a few moments to realize what just happened, then he kissed Astrid, laughing happily. Then Astrid quickly got up from near Hiccup and ran at her father, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Astrid said overexcited, earning a small content laugh from her father.

"Everything for my little valkyrie." Cuyler said, "And just so you know, I'm allowing this because I think you are a good kid, Hiccup, and you have a lot of potential. You took care of Astrid when I couldn't, you helped her, you saved her life, and from what I can tell, you love her," he continued, earning a small smile from Hiccup, "But I'll still break your neck if you ever hurt Astrid in any way." he added after that, earning an elbow from Astrid.

"I won't." Hiccup assured when Astrid came back and sit next to him.

"Also, this conversation won't leave this room," Cuyler said, looking at Astrid's and Hiccup's confused expressions. "Not yet, at least."

"Why?"

"Today, I met an old 'friend', Alvin. I don't know if you heard of him, but he managed form a tribe strong enough military to rival Berk. And he did that only with outcasts from the other tribes, in only twenty years. He used to live on Berk, until he was banished by Stoick. He is a greedy person that enjoys watching the others suffer." Cuyler said, then he sighed. "And he knows that both of you have been banished from Berk. He knows that Hiccup allied himself with the dragons and he knows about the bounty on both your heads, but I don't believe he knows how you look. And I'm almost certain that he doesn't know about the dragon army and the four hundred vikings supporting it. But I'd be very careful for the following days."

"We could return back to the cave." Astrid suggested.

"There's a blizzard outside. And I'm not going to send my daughter and my future son-in-law to freeze to death in a cave."

"So we are supposed to stay here and hide until he goes away?" Hiccup asks.

"Yes. I'll try to figure out what is he doing on Jàrnstarfa. Until then, it would be for the best if we kept our contact minimal. He knows me, but he doesn't know you, so if he doesn't see us together he won't be able to make a connection."

"But dad, maybe we can help you."

"I don't want to put you two at risk. Just try to not do anything stupid in the next few days. I'll come here every night to give you a report and tell you what to do, in case something happens. Until then, Hiccup, take care of Astrid."

"Cuyler, I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Astrid in this situation. We could use Ild or Blad to spy on him, then they can tell us what they found out."

"Hiccup, listen to me," Cuyler began to say, closing the distance between them. "That man," he said, pointing randomly at the door, "doesn't care for anything. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He's a ruthless bastard. And he is smart. Almost like Loki himself. He made his presence known to me because he has a plan. He always has one and Hel knows what that plan involves. Promise me you'll both stay out of this!"

"We promise." Astrid said a little too quickly, slightly surprising Hiccup.

"Good," Cuyler replied, slowly walking to the door before turning and looking again at them, "You might want to cover that hickey." he said, smirking at a blushing Hiccup and at Astrid quickly covering the hickey with her hand. He laughed a little at their reaction then he left the room.

"We won't stay out of this, right?" Hiccup asked.

"Nope."

"But can we start tomorrow?" Hiccup asked, laying back in the bed.

"Why?"

"I'm still trying to digest the fact that _I can _marry you in five weeks."

"But what if _I don't_ want to marry you?" She said, laying near him.

"Of course you do."

"Well, you are pretty much right."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

So far, Alvin actually liked this 'new' village in the Barbaric Archipelago. He was in the Great Hall, sitting at a table with Savage by his side, waiting for Audun to return. So far the negotiations were going pretty good, he thought. A simple exchange of gold for weapons. Should be simple enough. But then again, not everyday you meet an old 'friend' from Berk, and especially not one that could prove to be so useful at the moment. More exactly his daughter could be useful. A traitor from Berk. A traitor from Berk that _Stoick_ wanted back.

A small group of vikings at a nearby table burst out laughing, making Alvin glance curiously at them. Then he looked around the Great Hall, half searching for Audun and half wondering how the heck did this village manage to build such a building. He noticed the great fireplace in the middle of the hall; no tables around it. That made him a little more curious, so he looked around for a large table. The chief's table. And he found nothing. So this village was another one that treated everyone 'honorably', like equals.

That was a disappointment.

A person needs to prove that he is worthy to be treated 'honorably'. Respect is a thing that had to be won, not randomly given at the first person that enters the Great Hall.

He really hated when vikings were called 'heroes' and 'great warriors', but then they would cry for their 'mama' in their final moments. If that person was really 'honorable', then it might as well be honorable in his final bloody moments. They were all just a bunch of _runts_. After all his battles against the dragons and raids on the southern lands that he participated in, he could count the persons that were really 'honorable' with just a single hand.

Pathetic.

And after all, what was the point to live a honorable life? The gods only cared for blood. The more you killed, the more prestigious you became. There is nothing in there that said something about honor. And then again, honor creates too much self esteem, giving unrealistic expectations about a person. It was a lot better to just not give two flying dragons shits about someone's honor. It made things more _fun_.

Alvin glanced at Savage who was slowly drinking his mead. He used to be a fleet commander on a country somewhere in the south, a very important and 'honorable' man. But once he was captured by a raiding party, no one cared about him anymore. He only survived because he was smart. Even if in truth, he wasn't. Savage was simply an ass kisser in his country and an ass kisser when he was captured by vikings. So much for 'honor'.

In his experience as a viking, Alvin always thought that being feared created a stronger link between the leader and the soldier than being loved or respected by them. Fear was a stronger motivator than love, and this poor bastard that sat near him was the living proof of that.

When he looked back towards the great fire in the middle of the hall, he noticed Audun walking towards the table he was sitting at. It was about bloody time that he returned.

Audun sat in front of Alvin and Savage, taking a sip from his tankard "I talked with the blacksmiths and they will finish all your weapons in four days, at most." Audun said.

Alvin groaned, annoyed. In four days the bloody sea might freeze. Just before he could start and argue, he heard someone yell 'Astrid. Hiccup. Come here!'. He quickly turned around and looked after the person who yelled. But instead, he noticed something even better. There were only two persons that entered the Great Hall at the moment. One of them was a blonde girl and the other one was a boy with auburn hair. He quickly remembered that Hertha, Cuyler's wife, was blonde. So that must be Astrid. She wasn't wearing any heavy furs, so that meant that she is a local. Maybe staying here for a few more days wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"You, my friend, have got a deal." Alvin said getting up with a hearty laugh.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	27. Blood

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. **Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your support for this story.**

* * *

The same day, the couple met up with their brunette friend in the Mead hall.

"You know that we searched for more than an hour for you?" Heather asked, visibly annoyed, once Astrid and Hiccup sat at her table.

"Astrid might have mentioned something about that."

"Did she now?!" Heather asked with an exaggerated surprised face. "Let me guess. She found you at the inn?"

"Yes."

Heather slowly nodded in understanding. "And she didn't think about telling me and Bjørn about that? You know, just so we wouldn't have to walk through the blizzard that was outside in the middle of the night."

"It slipped my mind." Astrid said, a little amused.

"Now that you mentioned it, where is Bjørn?" Hiccup asked.

"We split up after we reached your forge. I haven't seen him after that."

"Do you think he stayed out all night looking for you?" Astrid asked.

"He's not that stupid." Hiccup answered at which Heather burst out laughing.

"I hate you two so much." Heather muttered in the end, burying her face in her palms.

"What happened?" Astrid asked confused.

"_I_ stayed _all night _outside looking for _you_!" Heather said a little louder. "I kept wandering the streets with only a fur cloak to cover myself from the snow. And I also fell in three damned ditches!"

"You haven't slept at all?"

"No..."

"So let me understand this," Astrid began to say. "You kept searching for Hiccup, all night, while it was blizzard outside, and you were drunk? That is just..."

"Don't say it!" Heather threatened.

"You should get some sleep." Hiccup said, feeling a little guilty.

"Now I'm more angry than tired."

"Heather, we are sorry that Astrid didn't announce you when she found me." Hiccup said.

"Yes, we are... Hey!"

"She should've returned to tell you to stop searching for me."

"Don't blame me! If you wouldn't have just disappeared without telling anyone, then we wouldn't have had to search for you in the first place."

"Yes, but I didn't asked for you to search for me. And I'm sure it was your idea."

"Stop! Both of you!" Heather almost yelled, "Don't even start with your game to blame each other, I'm really not in the mood for this!" She continued, "Now if I'm 'lucky', I will get a fricking cold. So, thanks."

"To be completely honest, I wasn't expecting anyone to stay out all night." Astrid said.

Heather sighed and got up from the table. "Do you know a place where I can sleep?"

"The inn. I think its full, but you can take our room." Astrid suggested.

"I don't want to sleep where you cuddle and make out."

"I have a sleeping bag at my forge. You can sleep in the back room, if you don't mind Horkman and Potet working in the forge."

"Other ideas, please..."

"You can sleep in a barn, with the dragons," Hiccup said.

"We can give you a few extra furs." Astrid added.

"And the Monstrous Nightmares are pretty warm."

"That could work. But I'm still angry at you two, just so you know." Heather said, slowly walking towards the great wooden doors of the Great Hall.

The two remaining teens just looked after Heather until she exited the great stone building.

"Next time, I will announce to you before I disappear." Hiccup said, looking a little apologetic.

"That reminds me," Astrid said, making Hiccup look at her. "Farouk thinks someone broke into the kitchen and stole his wine."

"Isn't that actually what we did?"

"Yes, but he doesn't know it was us."

"That's good, I guess..."

"He said that he will gut the thieves."

"Really?!"

"Yes. He said that he paid a lot for that wine."

"That's, not good..." Hiccup said, a little panicked.

"Really Hiccup, because I thought that that was excellent?!"

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm."

"That's too bad. I learned it from you."

"And I still regret it... Anyway, we should pay Farouk for the wine."

"Let me remind you something, he said that he will gut the thieves. And you know that he is twice our size!"

"Yes, but if we pay him for the wine, we wouldn't be thieves anymore. And that is the right thing to do."

"But..."

"And you really think that he would kill us?! We literally made this village what it is today!" Hiccup interrupted.

"I guess you're right." Astrid sighed.

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Almost half an hour later after they finished their 'real' breakfast, they decided to return to the inn, wanting to pay Farouk for the wine they drank last night. They slowly entered the main hall of the inn, bringing a little cold air and snow inside the building, getting a few glares for the vikings that ate there at the moment. Hiccup ignored them, but Astrid didn't, making her best annoyed face and glared right back at them. A few of them gave up, maybe intimidated by her guts, but some didn't. Knowing her pride, Hiccup was sure that she would start a fight with someone, so he dragged her to the kitchen, hoping to find Farouk there.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, the first thing they noticed was the very uncommon disorder that was in it. Farouk was a very organized viking that really liked everything to be clean and placed to their rightful place, so this was unusual.

Astrid picked up a tankard that was dropped on the floor and examined it. "I think Farouk is not here." She pointed out.

"I think you are right." Hiccup replied, picking a few apples from the ground and placing them in a basket.

"Hiccup, are you thirsty?" Astrid suddenly asked, walking towards a barrel.

"You want to steal more wine?" He asked once he noticed the red liquid at the base of the barrel and on the wooden floor near it.

"You said that we will pay for it. So, what harm can it do if we take some more now?" She asked, leaning on the respective barrel.

"He could walk in on us stealing his wine?" He asked rhetorically. "You know that he hates thieves and he usually acts before he thinks, like most vikings do."

"Don't be such a wuss."

"Astrid, I really think this is a bad decision." Hiccup said, walking towards her.

"I know... But we are still going to pay for it, right?"

"Of course we'll pay for it."

"Then come one, Hiccup. We won't drink enough to get drunk, only a few small sips."

"Gods woman, you'll be the death of me!" Hiccup gave up, at which Astrid smiled and started to open the barrel. After a few failed tries and one kick at the barrel, she finally managed to open it. She tossed the cap of the barrel on the floor and looked inside the barrel.

"Thor's beard!" She suddenly screamed, backing away until Hiccup stopped her.

"What?!" He asked, wanting to go and check for himself.

"Don't!" She yelled at him, grabbing his hand and dragging him back.

"Astrid, what happened?" He asked, facing her now.

"Farouk..." She muttered.

"What about him?"

"Fucking damn it!" She cursed, after a few moments of silence.

"Astrid!"

"He's dead, in there, Hiccup." She muttered, hugging him, more to comfort herself than him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, trying to free himself.

"Someone killed h-him and hid him in that b-barrel. Gods!"

"We have to tell someone about this." Hiccup said after Astrid let go of him, but when he tried to walk towards the respective barrel, still wanting to check it for himself, she caught his hand, dragging him away from it.

"You don't want to see that."

"Astrid!" He protested.

"Hiccup! You don't want to see that! Trust me!" She yelled at him and he sighed, slowly lowering his head.

"Are you sure it's him?"

She nodded.

"Let's find Audun."

"But we need to find a person..."

"You told me." Hiccup interrupted her. "I was the first person you met and you told me. Now I can vouch for you in front of Audun."

Astrid looked at him for a few moments, then she nodded in silence, but still not moving.

Hiccup placed both his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him, "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I just need a few moments." She said, slowly shaking her head.

"You've seen dead people before. You even killed other people before."

"Hiccup! There is a mess in there! I've never done, or will do something like that!" She yelled and he hugged her. "That was Farouk... That was the same Farouk that used to yell at us when we brought mud in the main hall, or when we would sneak at night into the kitchen and steal food..."

"I know, Astrid, I know..." Hiccup said, hugging her tightly and gently caressing her hair, trying to calm her.

She was sad, but she wasn't crying. She was just sad for losing a friend. And disgusted by the way he had to go. She felt angry. What kind of human being would do something like that? And why? What kind of sick bastard would _really_ do that? She took a few deep breaths, trying to clear her mind. Great. Now she was feeling dizzy.

"Can you bring me some water?" Astrid finally asked.

"Yes. Just sit... Here" Hiccup said, taking a small bucket and turning it upside down so that Astrid could sit on it. Then he started to look for a tankard.

"Can you see if we have any left in our room?" She asked, making Hiccup look to confused at her, "Please." she added with pleading eyes.

"Sure." He said, then he ran off.

For almost five minutes, she was sitting on the bucket and looking aimlessly at the barrel, lost in thoughts. The main question that popped into her head was '_Why?_'. _Why_ would someone kill Farouk? _Why _would they kill him here? _Why_ would they fricking butcher him then ditch him in a barrel? _Why _do such humans - no, they couldn't be _humans_, no human being would've killed him like _that_. They were _monsters_, at best. Not even the dragons did something like that when she fought them. She had seen wounds caused by dragons before, missing limbs or serious burns, but none of them even came close to this. Then an thought appeared. What if they tortured him before, to extract information, then they killed him? That thought made her shiver. She couldn't imagine the pain Farouk had gone through, if that was indeed the case. She really hoped it wasn't.

But it was the only situation that made sense. _Why_ would they butcher him like that _after _he died? And that lead to another question, 'What information did they want to get from Farouk?' or 'What information did they _managed _to get from him?'. He was just an innkeeper, it's not like he was a chief or something. He was just a fricking innkeeper. What could he knew of importance?

Farouk knew who she and Hiccup really were.

Could these people really be looking after them? It's not that impossible to conceive. They were both dragon riders and maybe someone found their true identity; and let's not forget about the bounty on their head. If they would indeed manage to capture her, would they do that to _her_? Or to _Hiccup_?

"No..." She said in a weak voice, forcing herself to look somewhere else from the barrel.

She slowly got up from the bucket and started to walk towards the barrel, still not looking at it. She kneeled near it and picked up the cap that she previously threw on the ground. Then she placed the cap on top of the barrel, hiding what's inside.

"May Valhalla open its gates for you, friend." She muttered a prayer before she got up and walked outside the kitchen. Just as she entered the main hall, Hiccup ran into her, almost knocking her off her feet.

"Sorry." Hiccup quickly apologized, holding a flask with water as an offer of surrender.

Astrid slowly took it and drank a few sips before passing it back to Hiccup, "Thanks." she said, slowly walking past him towards the exit.

Hiccup followed her closely, both walking towards the Great Hall in silence.

They opened the great wooden doors, entering the Great Hall. Hiccup quickly looked around, hoping to notice Audun sitting at a table, talking to someone, but he wasn't. He only noticed Bjørn talking with a few persons. So they walked towards him, hoping that he knew where his father was. As soon as he noticed the duo, he got up from the table and started walking towards them.

"Bjørn, where is your father?" Astrid promptly asked, not bothering with any greetings.

"He left about ten minutes ago."

"We really need to talk to him, do you know where he is?" Hiccup asked.

"He talked with a person that wanted to buy a lot of weapons and armors about half an hour ago, so my best guess would be the forges."

"That's just great." Astrid muttered, visibly annoyed. For most big villages, searching the forge wouldn't be a big problem, since most villages had only one forge, used mostly for repairing weapons and tools, rarely producing any, but as the weapons from Jàrnstarfa became more famous, they needed to make more forges in the village, to be able to keep up with the continuously rising demands. Now there were four forges in the village.

"What happened?" Bjørn asked, looking confused at them. Astrid already started to walk away, not bothering to say 'good bye'.

"You will find out soon enough. Just be careful." Hiccup said, running after her.

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They first went to the biggest forge in the village, that was also the first one and the one that Hiccup used. They entered the small stone building, hoping to find Audun there. And lucky for them, there he was, talking to Cuyler, Horkman hammering at a bended sword in the background.

"Audun." Astrid said, getting both their attention.

"Hiccup, I'm happy you came here." Audun said, looking at the boy. "We need your help in the forge today. And possibly tomorrow."

"We have more pressing matters now." Hiccup replied.

"Nonsense. This is a huge order. And they are paying in gold."

"Who?"

"Alvin." answered Cuyler.

"Farouk was killed." Astrid suddenly burst out.

"The innkeeper?" Audun asked, visibly shocked. "How could someone kill him? Why?"

"He is dead..." Astrid sighed. "His body was hid in a barrel..."

"That's a shame. He was a good man. We must find the killer and punish him!" Audun said, then he sighed, still sadden by the news.

"Are you two alright?" Cuyler asked, walking near Astrid and hugging her.

"He was tortured before he died..." Astrid added, not moving. But her words got a reaction from the others.

"Outrageous!" Audun thundered.

"How do you know?" Cuyler asked, releasing her and kneeling near her, so that they were at eye level.

"He had some wounds... that I don't believe were done after he died..."

"Why?"

"Why would they cut down his hands?! To fit better in the barrel?!" She almost yelled, now getting even Horkman's attention.

Cuyler slowly got up, then he waited for a few moments before he looked at Hiccup and said. "You two go to your room at the inn. Take your weapons if you need them. Even call Heather to stay with you, if you want. Just don't leave that room until I come to you."

"But..."

"Hiccup, I trust you to take care of Astrid." Cuyler interrupted his daughter.

"But dad..."

"Where did you find the body?" Audun interrupted this time.

"It's in the kitchen, hidden in a barrel. You will know which by the red marks on the floor and on it." Hiccup answered, walking near Astrid, watching as Audun and Cuyler were slowly walking towards the wooden door that led outside.

"Dad," Astrid said, making her father stop and slowly turn to look at her. "Please find that bastard."

"We will." Cuyler confirmed, before he walked outside the forge, following Audun.

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Hours passed and Astrid and Hiccup were in their room at the inn, silently looking at the warm fire. Astrid was sitting on Hiccup's lap, her back pressed against his chest. His hands lazily hugging her and his head resting on her shoulder, slightly leaned on hers. Hiccup looked almost sleepy, the boringness of the past hours finally showing its mark. But Astrid wasn't sleepy, not by a long shot; she was stressed and worried about Farouk's death and the reasons behind it. She just couldn't get the idea that someone was hunting them, out of her head. It's true that they had a bounty on their heads, but so far the bounty hunters managed to find them without too much difficulty, sadly. But they _never_ had a bounty hunter that butchered a person to find information about them. At least from what she knew. But this 'butchered person' was so close to them, literally in the kitchen of the building they were in right now, and that made her nervous, very nervous. She just couldn't bear to know that something like that could happen to Hiccup. It terrified her.

"What are you thinking about?" Hiccup suddenly asked and Astrid flinched, being too lost in her dark thoughts, "Sorry." he apologized once he startled her.

"Nothing." She lied, not wanting to worry him.

"Is it about Farouk?'

She didn't answer, looking aimlessly at the fire.

"Astrid, you know that you can talk about anything with me…"

"I know..."

"Maybe I can help."

"How?"

"I have no idea if I don't know what the problem is."

She sighed. Maybe Hiccup was right, maybe he could help her. After all, he was also involved in this, so there was no reason not to tell him. But at the same time she wanted to protect him. She knew that he was weaker than her mentally and worrying him about that wouldn't really help him. Nor her, in their current situation.

"How did you feel after you saw him?" He asked, breaking the silence once again, hoping that his question would somehow make it easier for her to talk.

"Farouk?"

"Yes."

"I... I felt..." She hesitated, until she took a deep breath and continued. He was just trying to help her, and she knew that. "At first I was shocked and disgusted, I couldn't believe that he was indeed Farouk, but after a few moments, once I was sure that it was him, I grew sad."

"I understand."

"No. No, you don't understand!" She snapped at him. "It was horrible and disgusting! The simple thought that a human being could do something like that it's just disturbing. Then when I realized he was tortured before he died, I felt angry, I felt something close to rage. I want to erase the piece of shit that did that from the face of Midgard. Not only to avenge Farouk, but to make sure that something like that would never happen again. It's just... disturbing..."

"I know." He replied, subconscious hugging her tighter. "He was also my friend and when you said that he was tortured, I just felt angry. It's true that I haven't seen him like you had, and I'm grateful that you stopped me, but you don't have to close yourself from me, Astrid. You know that I'll do my best to help you anyway I can."

"I know..."

"Then why don't you want to tell me what bothers you, because I know that this isn't the only problem."

"I don't want to worry you."

"Astrid…"

"I was thinking that the person that tortured Farouk was looking for information about us. And that he wants to capture us, and maybe torture us like Farouk just for the heck of it, before selling us back to Berk."

"Oh." Hiccup replied, a little surprised.

"'Oh'?! That is all you have to say?! I just told you that we might be tortured before send back 'home' to be executed by the Blood Eagle and you say just 'oh'?!" She asked, turning a little to face him, making him raise his head from her shoulder.

"I kind of thought about that a few hours ago..." Hiccup answered, receiving a hit from Astrid.

"And why didn't you said anything?!"

"I didn't want to worry you." He said, quickly grabbing her hands to stop her from hitting him again.

Astrid sighed, then she leaned back against Hiccup, looking at the burning fireplace. "We're both idiots."

"I won't really go with 'idiots', more like 'overprotective'." He said, slowly resting her head on her shoulder, half expecting her to try and hit him again.

"Maybe we should've asked Heather to come here with us." Astrid suddenly declared.

"But she was sleeping so peacefully with Ild and Blad in that barn." Hiccup said. "And we shouldn't leave this room until Cuyler gets here."

"Why?"

"I'm more afraid of angering him than some random bounty hunter."

"He's not that bad. And he likes you."

"Exactly. I don't want him to stop liking me, since that would lead to some 'complications' with you. And I really don't want that now that things are really going good between us."

Astrid chuckled, slowly smiling for the first time in the past few hours.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, listening to the cold wind that was trying to blow away the hide that was covering the window, and to the wood crackling in the fireplace. It was almost relaxing. The world outside just seemed so calm. Maybe because the night had finally arrived, covering the village in its dark veil, quieting it. It was weird that the world seemed so calm since just this morning there was a person brutally murdered in the village, and now nobody seemed to care. Except them.

The door slowly opened with a creak. And a pair of footsteps was slowly approaching them.

"You finally decided to show up, dad." Astrid said, not even turning her head to face the door, and neither was Hiccup.

After a few seconds of silence, there was a hitting sound and Hiccup was brutally pushed away from Astrid. The girl quickly looked at Hiccup, laying on the ground almost a foot behind her. She felt very confused at first, until she noticed that Hiccup's head was bleeding from the side, then she quickly tried to get up and face the attacker. But just as she turned around to look at the intruder, she felt a sudden, stinging pain on the left side of her face, probably a slap, and she fell back down. She tried to get up, but then it hit her again, a lot harder, she was sure that this one was a punch. Now she was feeling dizzy and confused, but she still tried to get up, only that this time, she wasn't stopped with violence, but instead, that person put a cloth bag on her head, covering her face. She tried to protest, but someone quickly got her up, throwing her on his shoulder and starting walking with heavy footsteps. She tried to yell, or hit someone, but she was quickly stopped when another person hit her head, not hard enough to really do some damage, but enough to warn her. And this time, she fell silent. At least she was sure that they didn't take Hiccup. But then again, maybe they were only taking her away so that they could kill him there. She shook her head, trying to throw away that thought, but it didn't disappear. She was afraid now, more for Hiccup's safety than her own. If something would happen to him she would never forgive herself. A few tears managed to escape her eyes and she was grateful for the bag that was covering her face, not allowing the kidnappers to see her crying. But a silent sob escaped her and she heard one of them laugh, she growled angry, hoping that it would somehow intimidate one of them, but it didn't. And why would it? She was being carried by an unknown person after she received three hits to the face. She was outnumbered by what she could tell, and there was no one to help her now.

After almost a minute she heard someone open a door and now she was suddenly feeling cold. And the freezing wind only confirmed her initial thought. She was outside now. Maybe she could yell now, maybe noticing a few vikings of her situation, and if she was lucky enough, they would help. But then again, maybe if the kidnapers would notice the villagers charging at them, what would stop them from killing her, then run away?

"Alvin, we got the girl." someone said; and that was enough for her to not yell and announce the villagers. Her father told her that Alvin is a bad person, and annoying him didn't seemed like the best solution at the moment. But what made her confused was that the person who was carrying her, hadn't stopped walking after saluting his leader.

"Stoick will surely be surprised." Another man with a strong accent said before he burst out laughing. Maybe that was Alvin.

Then a thought suddenly hit her. _Wait!_ _Stoick_?_ What does Stoick have to do with any of this?_

She feared she would soon find out.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	28. Raid

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. **Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your support for this story.**

* * *

They carried Astrid in silence, none of them talking, maybe afraid that if they did, they might attract the unwanted attention of some villagers. But it was night, so everyone should be asleep, and it was freezing outside, so surely no one would be wandering the streets now.

Maybe her father.

He said that he would check on them this evening, so he might arrived at the inn room and notice Hiccup injured and her missing, then he would go outside and search for her. So if he would hear someone talking on the streets, he might recognize her voice, then save her.

That could work.

"Where are you taking me?"

None of them answered, it looked like they ignored her question since they didn't even react to it.

"I want to talk to Alvin."

"You are in no position to make demands like this." A voice with an accent answered.

"Maybe not, but it worked."

"What worked?"

"I'm talking to Alvin." She answered; and there was silence for a few moments, until the person she was talking to started to laugh.

"Put her down." The same voice ordered. "And take that bloody bag off her face."

The viking that carried her quickly complied. Now she was staying on her own two feet, finally being able to see her attackers. There were three vikings in total, all of them large and fat. Two of them had long brown hair and beards, and one of them had the bag that covered her face in his hand. So now she knew who were the ones that attacked her and Hiccup. Then she looked at the other viking. This one had a long black beard and hair, a metal helmet with two large horns and a few runes inscribed on it. He had very simple armor, just some metal shoulder pads with spikes on them, a simple chain-mail armor and two arm bands, again, with spikes on them. A small scar on his face, on his right cheek, and even if his arms were not covered, there was no other trace of combat or fighting visible. But the most surprising thing about him, was that he was huge, even for a viking. Alvin was at least twice her size, even bigger than Audun. This guy looked strong enough to wrestle with a Gronckle. And that was something.

She just stared at him for a few moments, until he said, awakening her from her gaze. "Surprised kiddo? Were you expecting a small evil dwarf to plan all this?"

"No." She answered, trying to look calm, but in reality, she just got a lot more worried. Now even if her father found her, how the heck would he be able to defeat _this _viking? "I wasn't expecting you to be eight feet tall." She slowly walked towards him, when she was near him, the group started moving again.

"Now that you are talking to me, what do you want?" Alvin asked.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To meet Stoick."

"_Stoick_ planned all this?"

"_I_ planned all this!" He answered, hitting his chest proudly with his fist.

"Why?"

"To get to Stoick."

"Do you even know who I am?"

"You are a traitor of Berk, Cuyler's and Hertha's daughter. You are supposed to hunt the rightful heir of Berk and kill him. And your name is Astrid."

"H-How..."

"Let's play a game, kiddo." Alvin interrupted. "I will ask a question and you'll answer, then you will ask a question and I'll answer." He didn't wait for a response and continued. "Now it's my turn to ask. Do _you_ know, who _I_ am?"

"You're Alvin, leader of the Outcast Tribe. You had been banished from Berk by Stoick. And you are a..." She hesitantly stopped.

"Go on." Alvin prompted.

"You're a greedy and sadistic person, who is also very well informed and clever." She continued, not looking at him, slightly afraid that she made him angry or something.

Alvin burst out laughing, giving her a small pat on the back, making her stumble a few steps forward. "You're a smart girl. And you have guts. I like that." He said, slowly stopping laughing. "But let me tell you something, just between you and me." He leaned a little towards her and whispered, like he didn't want the other two brutes to hear them. "Never show a person that you just met that you are clever, or that you have the guts most vikings don't. Most people don't like to know that they are inferior to others, especially when that other is a kiddo. And never tell a person everything you know, because that will throw away your advantage. Always keep a few thing to yourself, you never know when they might be useful."

"Thanks... I guess..." She took a deep breath, then asked. "Am I going to die?"

"No."

"No?! That's all you have to say?! I've been kidnapped by three vikings and I have no idea where you are taking me and all you have to say is 'No'?!" She almost yelled, taking advantage of the situation to be noisy, maybe attracting someone's attention.

"What the heck did I told you almost a bloody minute ago?"

"Never tell a person everything you know..." She sighed.

"You learn fast." He laughed. "Where is the son of Stoick, Hiccup?"

"In the Barbaric Archipelago."

Alvin burst out laughing, again, giving a pat on Astrid's back. "You are going to be taken to my ship and nothing bad will happen to you. Maybe. Then we will trade you to Stoick, then kill him. After that, you are free to do what the heck you want. Rot on the island where we will kill Stoick, or join me and be my right hand."

"You want me to be your right hand?!"

"Where is Hiccup?"

"He's on Berk. Hiding in a cove with his dragons." She answered in one breath.

"That's genius! Stoick will never search his own island when he knows that his son has dragons. He could be on any bloody island in the archipelago."

"That was the plan." Astrid laughed nervously. Well, at least what she said wasn't _really_ a lie. Hiccup, the son of Stoick, remained on Berk. _This_ _Hiccup_, the one that is lying unconscious, hopefully, in the inn on Jàrnstarfa, was a different person. _This_ _Hiccup_, won the respect of over four hundred vikings and one hundred dragons. This Hiccup is a genius, a born leader, a real warrior and she wasn't going to betray him. It's just like Alvin said, 'Always keep a few things to yourself, you never know when they might be useful.' Well, she hoped that this information would be useful in the following half hour or so, before they reach the docks. "Did you killed Farouk?"

"Who the heck is Farouk?"

"The innkeeper."

"So, he killed him…" Alvin mused, more to himself

"Who?"

"Oh, what the heck!" Alvin said, a little too sudden and loud. "Savage, my right hand man killed him."

"Savage _butchered _him?"

"He does go a little overboard, sometimes. That's his way to release his stress, you know."

"By fucking dismembering a person?!"Astrid yelled at the outcast leader, making him laugh.

"You have a pretty sharp tongue."

"How could you let that…_monster_, do something like that?"

"I told him to get me answers, and he did. I don't care what he does if he manages to do what I order him to." Alvin answered, a little too calm for Astrid's liking. The fact that he allowed his right hand man to do something like that only made Astrid afraid of the situation she was in. She wasn't literally afraid of those people, since no one could scare a Hofferson, but doing something like that, just wasn't _human_. She honestly had no idea how to act around people like that, and that worried her. "Who was that boy at the inn?" Alvin asked his question, after a few moments of silence.

"What boy?" Astrid quickly asked, starting to get worried for an entire different reason.

"At the inn, you were with a boy in the room, I'm guessing your boyfriend, am I right?"

"Yes." She answered hesitantly.

Alvin stopped, making the rest of the group to also stop. "Bloatr, go and kill that boy at the inn."

"What?!" Astrid almost yelled. "No! Don't do that!"

"Why?"

"Why would you want to kill him?!" She turned and looked at the outcast that began to walk back towards the inn and yelled after him. "No! Stop!"

"He will report to the chief that we kidnapped you. And that might lead to other problems." Alvin calmly said, "Why take any chances?" he shrugged.

"He won't! Please..." She fell to her knees, looking sad on the ground.

"He really means a lot to you?"

"Just leave him out of this! I will follow your orders. I won't cause any problems. I'll be your right hand. Just leave him alone..."

"You are in no position to negotiate with me, kiddo." Alvin said, making Astrid glare at him.

She couldn't let him do that. She had to protect Hiccup. So she started to look around, hoping to find something that could somehow help her. She noticed a sign on a building that was behind Alvin. It was an anvil and a hammer. That meant that building was a forge. And the forges were only in the upper part of the village, with most villager's houses and the stables for dragons. She resumed her scanning of the surroundings, trying to recognize the street, since she hadn't really paid any attention where she was until then. She quickly noticed a barn behind her. There had to be dragons there. So all she had to do was to manage to open the barn's doors. Just a quick run and the dragons would be free, then she _would _be in a position to negotiate.

Astrid quickly got up and turned around, wanting to run towards the barn, but a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, stopping her. She was quickly thrown towards the forge, hitting the outer wall and falling to the ground, near it. She quickly shook her head, trying to regain her focus. Only then she noticed an outcast laying on a pool of blood, a few feet away from her. That was the viking who was supposed to go and kill Hiccup. Then she noticed a tall man, wielding a great sword, slowly approaching her.

That man was her father.

She tried to get up, but a cold dagger was quickly placed at her throat, making her remain seated on the ground.

"Let her go!" Her father yelled at Alvin.

"Froub, go to the ships and tell Savage we are leaving." Alvin ordered; and the remaining outcast started to run away from the conflict. After a few moments of silence, Alvin said. "Cuyler, old friend, I don't think you had introduced me to your daughter."

"Alvin, she has nothing to do with this, let her go." Cuyler said, slowly walking towards him, but he stopped as he saw a few drops of blood at Astrid's neck.

"You are wrong, old friend, she has everything to do with this."

"She's just a kid."

"She had a bounty on her head for five bloody months. This girl survived on her own since you banished her from Berk. She's not a kid anymore, Cuyler. She's a warrior."

"You have no idea what are you talking about!" Cuyler responded, only now noticing Astrid's intentions to get something from her left boot. Then he remembered that she always used to carry a hidden dagger, just for situations like this. He thought she was too paranoid for her own good, but now he couldn't be more happy about this. He just needed to distract Alvin until she managed to get her dagger. "I'll fucking kill you!"

"Hah, I'll pay to see that. You can't make a move without endangering..." Alvin said, before a dagger in his left arm interrupted him, making him groan annoyed, dropping his own weapon and allowing Astrid to get away from near him. Before he could get the weapon out of his arm, Cuyler charged at him, swinging his sword, managing to leave a small cut on his right arm. Alvin brutally pulled the dagger out of his hand, blood gushing out of his fresh wound, then he threw the weapon on the ground. He looked really mad now. Alvin parried another swing with his right arm, using his arm bands to protect against the blade, before throwing a strong left punch at Cuyler, managing to hit him and making him stumble a few steps backwards.

Astrid was right, her father couldn't defeat Alvin. Not alone, at least. She quickly looked after the dagger Alvin threw on the ground a few moments ago. When she noticed it, she pounced towards it, grabbing it and making sure that neither her father or Alvin saw her. She looked back at the fight between the two, another failed swing from her father, leading to another punch from Alvin. She needed to do something before it was too late.

So Astrid ran towards them and once she was close enough, she made a quick, deep cut at Alvin's right leg, making the large viking to fall on his knee, then she simply backed a few feet away from the fight, just in time to see her father making another swing towards Alvin. But this time, her actions left the bulky outcast unprepared for his opponent attacks, so the sword managed to hit him. More exactly his helmet, cutting down a horn from it and making it fall from his head to the ground, leaving the bulky viking to lay unconscious on the cold, bloody snow that was covering the ground.

"I've waited long enough to do this. I never thought you could sink so low to try and kidnap my daughter." Cuyler muttered, slowly raising his sword above his head, intending to deliver the finally blow. "May Valhalla close its gates on you, you disgraceful bastard." And just as he was to kill Alvin, two people grabbed his hands, preventing him from delivering the final blow.

"Stop!" One of them said, and he soon realized that this person was Audun.

"Just perfect..." Cuyler muttered, tossing his sword near Alvin and slowly turning to face the other vikings. He looked at them and noticed that Bjørn was the other person that stopped him from killing Alvin, then he noticed Heather, staying a few feet away from Astrid, looking slightly panicked at him. "He kidnapped my daughter. I have the right to kill him." He calmly said, already knowing that Audun would never allow something like that, but refusing to back away that easily.

"I am the chief in this village. And he is the chief of the Outcast Tribe, you can't just kill him in the middle of the street."

"Audun, let me remind you something. This man," Cuyler said, pointing at Alvin, "kidnapped Astrid, my daughter; who also happens to be one of the two persons that made this fucking village what it is today." He finished, trying to remain calm, trying to just forget about the bastard that kidnapped his daughter, but it wasn't _that_ easy. He quickly looked towards Astrid, slowly walking towards her and bringing her in a tight hug.

"Is Hiccup alright?" Astrid quickly asked, hugging her father, the other vikings silently watching them.

"He is at the inn. I put him in bed, to rest. I won't be surprised if he doesn't wake up until we get there." And they both began to walk away from the small group of vikings, but not before Cuyler turned and glancing one last time at Heather, saying. "Next time, take a small detour."

She smiled nervously at him, then she said. "You said to run as fast as I can."

"I know what I said, but I would've been a lot happier if you took your time." Cuyler finished, resuming his walk with Astrid towards the inn.

They walked mostly in silence. Astrid trying to digest what happened today, while her father was walking closely near her, wanting to make sure that nothing else has going to happen to her. As they were approaching the inn, a skinny figure ran out of it, looking in a panic around, but once he noticed them, the skinny figure started to run towards them, in a rather funny way. Even with the almost inexistent light, Astrid managed to recognize the skinny figure as Hiccup, and she was right. He ran into her, almost making her fall of her feet, but then he hugged her, helping her regain her balance.

"I was so scared. I'm sorry, Astrid." Hiccup slowly said, still holding her.

"It's not your fault."

"I promised that I would take care of you. And I failed."

"You didn't fail..."

"I was supposed to take care of you." Hiccup interrupted her.

"There was nothing you could've done." Cuyler said. "Those vikings were twice your size. You should be happy that it wasn't any worse."

"But I still could've..."

"Just go to the inn and rest. Both of you." Cuyler said, slowly pushing them towards the wooden building. "I'll send Bjørn or Heather to look after you."

"What are you going to do?" Astrid asked once Hiccup finally released her, but he was still slightly leaning on her side.

"I want to talk with Alvin once he wakes up." Her father responded, starting to walk away from them.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, just looking after Cuyler as he disappeared after a building.

"Are you alright?" Hiccup suddenly asked.

"I've had worse. A lot worse." Astrid responded, looking rather curiously as Hiccup tried to touch her now slightly swollen cheek. She hissed and pulled her head away a little.

"Sorry." Hiccup quickly said, noticing her reaction. So this time he tried to be more careful, slowly tracing a finger over the injury. "Do you know who did this?"

"He's either dead, or on the ship, leaving Jàrnstarfa." She responded, deciding that the stinging pain was bearable enough to let Hiccup cup her face.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The following morning, the three outcast ships were idly floating over the vast cold sea. The frozen wind was slowly moving the boats forward. Leather tents were built on the deck, slightly protecting the vikings from the wind and the snow, but not doing much against the cold air that somehow managed to sneak by the hides and furs, leaving the outcasts shivering on the ships.

Savage was lying awake in his small tent, the one that he used to share with Alvin. Being the second in command surely had its advantages. Not having to sleep near the other stinky and drunk vikings, not having to listen to their stories of a better life, before they were banished. He only had to tolerate one drunk viking, Alvin; and this viking wasn't talking about a better life home, he was talking about revenge. And Savage respected that. Vengeance is one of the strongest motivations and it was almost impossible to ignore. That made Alvin a good leader, sort of. He was always objective, never taking favorites, but that wasn't really a good thing since Alvin was literally a brute. He would cut the hands of his own brother if he skipped the meat off his sandwich. This way of thinking lead to the death of a lot of vikings from the Outcast tribe, but that wasn't really a problem, since there were always stupid people that were too much trouble to deal with and they were banished from big villages, in the end, joining the Outcasts Tribe. So there was always 'fresh meat'. But there were also those outcasts that tried to be better so they wouldn't be executed by Alvin. There was a small group in the tribe, formed only from the best warriors. They were called 'Marauders' by Alvin. They were pretty much the elite warriors of the Outcast Tribe. From one hundred vikings that were now on those three ships, twenty two of them were Marauders.

He turned on his right, looking at the spot were Alvin used to be. He muttered a curse under his breath. They abandoned him on Jàrnstarfa. When Froub reached the ships and said that Alvin ordered them to prepare to leave, he was slightly confused, but followed the orders nonetheless. He knew that it was not wise to anger Alvin. After that, Froub explained what happened and when Alvin didn't showed up twenty minutes later, they just left. It wasn't really that hard to abandon him, since he was a brute and everyone was afraid of him, so the chance to just get rid of Alvin without risking to be executed was too much to be ignored. But what annoyed Savage was that he was supposed to be the next chief, since he was the second in command, but almost no one wanted him to be chief. Fights broke off on the ships, twenty vikings died, Froub was one of them. That fool said that he should be chief since he was the last one that saw Alvin, then a Marauder threw an axe at him and killed him. Then a few others quickly followed Froub. Somehow, Savage managed to survive the night, even thought he was the best candidate for the post of chief and no one supported him, he was still alive. A little bruised, but alive.

"Dragons!" A viking yelled, just before an explosion occurred and destroyed one of the three outcast ships. Savage jumped to his feet, quickly grabbing his helmet and running outside his tent. He quickly looked around, noticing two Gronckles shooting flaming rocks at the ship that was slowly sinking, probably making sure that there was nothing left out of it, then he noticed a Monstrous Nightmare flying over the other ship, burning its sails and the tents that were on deck, he even saw two burning vikings jumping into the water.

"Thor almighty..." Savage murmured, looking shocked at a group of two Deadly Nadders shooting their spikes at the burning ship. Suddenly, the ship he was on rocked. He quickly looked around and noticed a Nadder landed at the end of it and a rather small viking was slowly walking towards the tents, a great axe in his hand and a cloth scarf was hiding his face. Four Outcasts ran with their weapons readied towards the viking, but the Nadder behind him shot them with its spikes, hitting them straight in the chest, instantly killing them. Savage quickly grabbed a sword forgotten on the deck and hid behind a tent.

"My name is Kára. I want to talk with your chief." The small dragon rider said, with a woman's voice, surprising all vikings on the ship, a few even started laughing, but the dragon rider ignored them. And in truth, even Savage was a little amused by this. Who does _she_ think she is, attacking the outcast tribe with dragons?

Two marauders were slowly walking towards her, not impressed by her demand. A green Terrible Terror jumped on her shoulder, wanting to get a better view at was what happening on the ship. When one of the marauders was close enough, he swung his sword towards the dragon rider, wanting to hit her, but the girl simply parried the attack with her axe, while the dragon on her shoulder shot a fire blast at the attacker. Then Kára slightly dodged the attack from the other marauder, only moving a little out of the way, managing to get a grip on the spear he attacked with while the Terror jumped on the man's face, making him lose his weapon. After she had the spear, she hit the first viking with the flat of her axe over the face, making him fall on his back on the ship's deck, then she stabbed him through the shoulder with the spear, heavily leaning on it so that it went fully through his shoulder and into the wood of the deck, effectively pinning him to the ground. She ignored his yells and struggle and went after the other marauder, the one that the Terrible Terror was fighting. He was close to the edge of the ship, so she kicked him, making him stumble until he hit the side of the deck, then the dragon quickly jumped off him, just in time to dodge the flat side of the axe as it hit the man, throwing him overboard.

"Who is your chief?" She asked again, still calm. She didn't even brake a sweat and she defeated two of the outcast's best warriors in less than five seconds.

"Savage is." A viking quickly said.

"Fucking Hel..." Savage muttered, slowly walking outside from his hiding place. Yesterday they almost killed him for saying that he was the chief, and now, at the first sign of problem, they officially 'crown' him.

"Savage..." Kára said, slowly walking towards him.

He quickly glanced at the other remaining ship. Most of the tents on it were burning, about thirty outcasts staying in line in front of another dragon rider, that one with a bow. Then two Deadly Nadders landed on that ship, behind the other dragon rider. His eyes widened. Was this the Fáfnir everyone is talking about?

"Are you..." Just before he could ask, the roar of another dragon was heard, and he turned around to look at it. But there wasn't only _one _dragon. There were at least twenty Monstrous Nightmares, Hideous Zipplebacks and Deadly Nadders that started to pick up barrels and boxes from near the ship that was already sunken. Just as the dragons came, they quickly disappeared in the blizzard.

"So you are the leader of this small group?" The dragon rider in front of him asked, making him to look very surprised at her. Only now he fully noticed how she was dressed. Only in fur hides, no sign of any real armor. A long, fully white cloak, that also had a hood to cover her head, probably from bear fur; but a fully white bear was something only found deep in the northern islands and not a lot of people dared to venture there. A thick fur coat, clearly made from different types of fur, not even trying to match the cloak. The only thing that resembled something like armor were the hide gauntlets she wore, looking like they were enforced with leather. The fur pants were covering her legs, again, visibly made from more than one fur. And a pair of heavy hide boots, leaving footprints on the snowy deck.

She looked more like a furry bear than a viking. Odin's beard, he would kill for a few furs and a fire.

"Looks like it." Savage answered, shrugging. He quickly glanced at the other ship, noticing that the other dragon rider was dressed the same way. Savage narrowed his eyes. _Those cocky bastards knew what they were doing. They didn't came here to fight us, they came here to raid us. _

The dragon rider buried her axe in the ship's deck. A few moments after that, a loud screech was heard from the other ship. Savage quickly looked after the creature that made that sound and saw a black dragon on the other ship, with a rider on it. Then the dragon roared and tens of Nadders and Nightmares landed on the ship, starting to carry barrels and boxes from it, again, quickly disappearing into the blizzard. The black dragon jumped into the air and flew to this ship, carefully landing on it. The dragon rider that remained on the other ship got on a Zippleback and flew away with the dragons that stole the cargo of the ship.

"Who are you?" Savage asked the new dragon rider that landed on the ship. This one was had armor on him. A black helmet, small spikes trailing on the middle of it and a red drawing of a dragon was on the left side of it. He glanced at the dragon he was riding and it looked slightly like it. The tail and the wings sharing some similarities. He also had only one black shoulder pad on his right shoulder. Black vambraces on both his arms, a special sheath on the left one, revealing the handle of a dagger. The rest of him was covered in simple, brown leather armor, small details here and there.

"Who do you think I am?" The dragon rider asked, dismounting his dragon and slowly walking near Kára. This one was a man.

"I believe you are Fáfnir." Savage answered, pointing at the new dragon rider, "Then I believe that you are fucking Fáfnir." he continued, pointing to Kára, earning a few laughs from the other outcasts.

"Are you the chief?"

"Is she your bitch?" Savage asked, looking pleased as the girl was tightening her grip on her axe, trying to abstain from charging at him.

Fáfnir just sighed, slowly backing away and saying. "Don't kill him."

That was all Kára needed to hear before charging at him. She swung her axe, using the momentum from her charge to hit with more force. Savage managed to parry the attack, but to his surprised, his sword broke at the impact with the axe. Then Kára swung her axe again, this time hitting Savage's shoulder with the flat side of it, making him stumble a few steps backwards. As he was still unbalanced, she kicked him, making him fall to the ground, he tried to get up, but then she kicked him in the head, making him fall back down, slowly rolling on his back. A Marauder charged at the girl, but with a quick and strong attack, she buried her axe in his chest, actually struggling a little to get it out from his body.

For a few moments, Savage was just looking at the clouds, at the falling snow, her hit leaving him dizzy and confused on the ground, but as soon as she walked over him and stomped his right shoulder, he quickly got back to the world. The sudden outburst of pain forcing him to release a yell and try to get up. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself, then he glared after Kára as she was slowly walking away from him.

"That's right! Go back to your pathetic dragons!" Savage yelled after her. "You're nothing but a dragon slut!"

Kára stopped. She slowly turned around and started walking back towards Savage.

"Give me that axe!" Savage yelled at a nearby outcast, snatching the axe from his hands, trying to get a good grip on it with his injured shoulder. Kára crouched a little, retrieving the hidden dagger from her left boot.

Once they were close enough, Savage swung his axe at Kára, which she dodged by quickly crouching near him, then she stabbed his left leg with the dagger. Because of his momentum, Savage dropped the axe at the sudden outburst of pain, then the dragon rider brutally pulled the dagger out, and now the simple act of standing caused too much pain in his leg, making him fall. Kára slowly walked to his right side, then she stepped on his arm, pressing her foot a little above the elbow. Savage tried to push her off, but to no result, he started to curse her, calling her names, but she ignored him. Than Kára took a few deep breaths and with a quick move, hit the deck just near her foot.

An initial wave of pain washed over him for a second, then it quickly vanished. He suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous. Then she stepped of his arm, slowly retrieving her axe and walking away from him. That was the moment when he saw blood.

He turned his head to get a better look at his arm. Blood gushing from where his hand was supposed to be. A new wave of pain washed over him, this one a lot stronger than the first one. And it didn't go away.

The last thing that he heard before passing out were the wing flaps of two dragons.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After they attacked the outcast ships, Astrid and Hiccup were flying in silence, not even the dragons saying anything. But as soon as they approached a small rock formation in the middle of the sea, Hiccup ordered Stormfly to land on it.

"She's my dragon." Astrid replied, but Hiccup ignored her, in the end, Astrid steered Stormfly towards the sea stack.

Toothless landed first and Hiccup quickly dismounted the Night Fury and started walking towards the place where Stormfly landed, a few feet further. Astrid slowly dismounted her dragon and stood in front of Hiccup, half expecting him to yell at her.

But he slowly unequipped his helmet and hold it under his arm, he looked at her and sighed, then he asked. "What was that?"

"I think it's pretty straight forward." Astrid replied, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"Why?!" He yelled. "Why did you cut his hand off?!"

"He called me a bitch! You don't expect me to just ignore that?!"

"He didn't called _you_, a bitch. He called _Kára_, a bitch."

"Then Kára cut his hand off!"

"Why did Kára cut his hand off?!"

"He butchered Farouk! Alvin told me that he was the one that tortured Farouk and then killed him!"

"How the heck do you know that Alvin was telling the truth?!"

"He had no reason to lie!"

Hiccup snorted. "Is that your excuse?"

"No!" She yelled back at him, Toothless and Stormfly slowly backing away from the fight. "I cut his hand off because I don't want him to butcher anyone else! No one deserves that!"

"Then why didn't you just kill him?!"

"You told me not to kill him!"

"Fucking great!" Hiccup cursed, starting to pace around. "So you thought that maiming him would be better? If you really hate that man that much you could've just killed him! Gods!"

"What is your problem?!" She yelled at Hiccup, walking in front of him, making him stop.

He sighed, "My problem is that you just cut off his arm like it was nothing, like you didn't just maimed him and then you walked away, like it wasn't a big deal," he said, with a sad voice. "That's not the Astrid I know..."

"Does the Astrid you know accept being insulted by any Outcast bastard?"

"No... But she also doesn't just go around cutting people's hands."

She turned her back to him. "Savage was Alvin's right hand."

"So you cut _his_ right hand?" He asked rhetorically, earning no response from her. "Just promise me you won't do something like that again."

"What if that is the only way that I could survive a fight?"

His arms wrapped around her waist from behind. "Only then." He sighed in her ear then. "I understand how angry you are. but, we have to- _have to_ pretend things like this don't bother us."

She took his hands in her own and simply nodded, understanding his logic. "But someone should avenge Faruok."

"And you did, it's all over now."

"Okay…"

His hands moved from her waist to her shoulders as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "By the way, you aren't my 'bitch.' You are, and will always be my equal, my second self."

She turned quickly and caught his lips. "Don't you forget it."

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**

**And also, the following update might be a little late.**


	29. Light

**Thanks to P-Artsypants for being my beta reader and for her support in writing this story**. **Also thank you guys for the reviews and for your support for this story.**

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"We should arrive any minute." Hiccup answered, dragging a blindfolded Astrid after him.

"You know that we could've flew with the dragons and save at least half an hour of walking?" Astrid asked again, still excited by the trip, but slowly getting annoyed by all the unnecessary walking. If they had dragons, why not use them?

Because it was part of Hiccup's plan for her birthday. He planned for them to visit the mainland and a special, hidden place, that was supposedly only a legend, but Gobber insisted that this place was real, and that there were a few more like it scattered in the world, but this one was the closest. This mythical place was supposed to show the remains of the Ice Giant Ymir, some of the only ones that managed to fight back the elements and pass the test of time. Even if Hiccup pretty much told her everything he planned, she was still very excited about this. The full plan was to get going four days before her birthday, taking one or two days to arrive on the huge, greenish island, spend one or two days in the huge, rich villages that were here, then go to the hidden monument on her birthday, then spend another few days aimlessly in the villages. But as Hiccup asked Audun for some resources for the trip, the chief got the idea to go on a trading mission to the richer villages here, so the duo had to leave a few days earlier and was also joined by ten ships fully loaded with weapons, tools and equipment made from the famous Gronckle Iron, that still no one knew it was actually Gronckle puke. So they left a week prior to her birthday, her father already left on a visit to Berk, saying that he has some loose ends to tie. The trip took four days, with the help of the Scauldrons that pulled the ships through the almost frozen water. They spent a day in the first village they reached, buying food and other supplies for the trip to the monument, then they left the main group and ventured deeper in the land. People said that it took more than a month to travel the whole island by foot, so with the dragons it would took only a few days, maybe even less, but it was still not even close to the never-ending land that was usually raided by the southern viking islands. But still, Ísland was the biggest and richest viking island, even if it wasn't part of the Barbaric Archipelago. It was one of the few islands inhabited by vikings that couldn't actually sustain other plants, besides grass, that made them extremely dependent from the other islands. Fortunately, they were one of the largest fisheries in the north, and traded their surplus of fish.

Suddenly Hiccup stopped, making Astrid ask excited while trying to untie the blindfold. "Are we there?"

"No. Wait, don't do that!" Hiccup quickly said, grabbing her hands to prevent her from ruining the surprise.

"Then why did we stop?"

"I forgot about this creek..."

"So what now?"

"I'll have to carry you to the other side."

"Wouldn't be easier to just fly with the dragons there? I'll keep this blindfold on."

"I don't trust you with that."

"I'll fly with you and Toothless?" She asked, really hoping to find a solution to get there as fast as possible. They were walking for half an hour in what seemed like a frozen wasteland, luckily it wasn't snowing, but the cold wind was still very annoying. Even their 'fur armor' did almost nothing to protect them against the cold air. All she really wished now was to sit near a fire, protected by the wind and drinking some warm yak milk.

"Promise not to peek?" Hiccup asked, grabbing her hand and slowly dragging her in a direction, probably towards the dragons.

"Yes! Just get me out of this cold!"

"As you wish, milady." Hiccup responded, helping her get on Toothless's saddle before climbing himself. And in just a matter of seconds, they were flying. It was even colder up in the air, but luckily they landed just a few minutes later.

"Are we there?" Astrid quickly asked.

"Yes, we are here." Hiccup answered, dismounting Toothless and helping Astrid as well.

"Finally!" She said, trying to untie the blindfold.

"Just wait a few moments."

"Why?"

"I want to untie it."

"Fine." She responded, rolling her eyes, but her action went unnoticed. Her hand slowly moved to her neck, carefully holding the small necklace she received earlier that day. It had one of Stormfly's blue scales at the end of it, three runes carved on it. She smiled, tracing the small runes on the scale. It was almost like the one she gave to Hiccup on his birthday. She remembered that Hiccup asked her what the runes meant and she explained those were his strongest traits and the ones that made her love him. Her necklace said 'Beautiful' and 'Strong' on one side and 'Love' on the other. She guessed that he has the same explication for the runes that were on her necklace.

His hands land on her shoulders and she slowly covered the necklace with her fur coat, wanting to make sure that there is no way to possibly lose it.

"Are you ready?" Hiccup asked and she nodded, almost wanting to punch him for taking so long. He slowly untied the blindfold then let it rest on her neck like a scarf. It took a few moments for Astrid's eyes to adjust with the light and she was slightly surprised by what she was seeing, even confused. It was a cave. A huge, dark, cold cave. When Hiccup told her they would go to visit a place that existed only in legends, she was half expecting to not find anything, but even legends have some truth in them. And the remains of the Frozen Giant from which the world was created shouldn't be a little more spectacular than this?

"Is this...?" She wanted to ask, but Hiccup interrupted her.

"This is only the entrance. Everyone I asked said that you have to wander in this cave until you find some frozen chambers, then something will happen."

"What?"

"It's a surprise." Hiccup said, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the cave, the dragons lazily following them.

"Do you actually know what it is supposed to happen?"

"I believe so."

"You believe so?"

"Gobber said that something is supposed to happen and the villagers here said that something else is supposed to happen. But both stories say that this 'something' is worth all the trouble."

"What is that 'something?" Astrid asked, stopping Hiccup and walking to Stormfly to grab a torch which Blad quickly lit.

"That is a surprise, but I do believe you'll like it."

"Will that 'surprise' explode or attack us?"

"No. But now that you mentioned it. The villagers warned me that there is a dragon living in those caves and said that it would be best if I kept my distance, but I didn't tell them that I'm not going alone and that we also have dragons, so I think we will be alright."

'If that dragon has a good reason to attack you, I'll let it.' Toothless interjected.

"That's good to know..." Hiccup replied sarcastically. "Anyway, I figured that we could have an easy time finding the chamber and avoiding that dragon with Toothless's help."

"How?"

"He can see in the dark and figure were to go to avoid dead ends, like a bat."

"I remember that." Astrid said, looking curiously at the cave's walls before quickly glaring at Hiccup. "That's why you always fly in caves when we race!"

"That's one reason. The other one is that _you_ can't see in the dark."

"That's cheating!"

"That's taking advantage of your abilities."

"Cheater!"

"Hey! You shot spikes at us to slow us down!"

"Technically, Stormfly did. And Toothless shot a fire blast at me and Stormfly once!"

"He sneezed! And you already punched me for that."

"Multiple times." Astrid added.

Suddenly there was a purplish wave that passed them and they both turned and looked at Toothless. 'We must go left now, otherwise we will reach a dead end.' The Night Fury simply stated, walking past the two teens.

"From now on, you are not allowed to fly with Toothless in caves when we race!" Astrid said.

"But..."

"No!"

"Then Stormfly won't fire spikes at us."

"Deal." Astrid agreed.

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For an hour they followed Toothless as the Night Fury lead them through the cave. They passed a few white, ice walls, marking a transition between the dark and rocky part of the cave to the frozen and lighten one. The ice was so clear that it reflected the light from Astrid's torch on almost the entire wall, lighting the cave for twenty feet in front of them. Soon enough, they reached a tunnel that was fully made of ice and Toothless confirmed that at the end of it, there was a large chamber and that they could stay there. They walked through the tunnel, only falling on the ice a few dozen times until they reached the room Toothless was talking about.

The chamber they soon found themselves in was literally huge. It was half as big as the Great Hall in Jàrnstarfa. Five frozen pillars holding the icy ceiling, a yellowish light coming from a large opening on the right side of the chamber and another small tunnel on the left, leading most likely back to the endless cave they were in before.

"This is... pretty unexpected." Hiccup said, slowly walking towards the large opening.

"I agree." Astrid simply responded, leading the dragons to a nearby pillar and starting to make their camp. First, she got off Stormfly's saddle and all the small bags and furs she was carrying, then, as she was walking towards Toothless, Hiccup called after her.

"Astrid!"

"Yes?" She answered, slightly turning to look after him.

"Come here quickly!"

"Just a second." She responded, trying to continue her work.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled again after her and she sighed, slightly annoyed; and so did Toothless, slowly following Astrid as she walked towards Hiccup, still carrying the boards they brought to make a fire and the food.

"Yes, Hiccup." She said once she got near him.

"Just look." He responded, making Astrid to also look into the large opening.

She slowly turned her head and gasped.

It was an underground lake, surrounded by stone walls. A large ice block on a rock base somewhere in the middle of it. A small hole in the ice ceiling allowed the sun light to sneak in and hit the ice block, then in turn, the light refracted inside, allowing colored lights to escape and hit the water. It then reflected to the ice ceiling, then back onto the water until it reached the stone walls, or the opening where they were on. The colored lights danced on the walls as the ice block slowly rotated, transforming the yellowish light that reached them into a more greenish one, very slowly glittering like fireflies dancing in Alvendale's fire. Magnificent didn't even describe it.

"Is this that 'something' that was supposed to happen?" Astrid asked, keeping her gaze on the light show that was happening in front of her.

"That's what the villagers said."

"Its like a rainbow!" Astrid exclaimed.

"Almost." Hiccup laughed, slowly bringing Astrid closer to him and hugging her.

"This is amazing!"

"So was this worth the walking through a frozen wasteland for half an hour blindfolded?"

"Yes!" She exclaimed, glancing at the dragons who were also looking amazed at the lights. "But still, how did you find this place?"

"I wanted to do something special for your birthday, and honestly, I had no idea what to do for most of it, but I remembered one of Gobber's stories that said about a beautiful place, somewhere in a frozen cave, then I asked around Jàrnstarfa about a huge frozen cave in Ísland and so I found out the legend. Then I did a quick trip here, asked around, searched the wastelands with Toothless and found a huge cave that goes underground."

"So you have no idea if this is the cave from the legend?"

"Well, everything around us is frozen, in a very clear ice. This place is huge. And then there is this lake."

"I've never seen anything like this before." Astrid said as the light was now turning bluish, slowly intensifying.

"Me neither."

"How can this be..." She was interrupted by Toothless who nudged her, wanting her to unload his saddle.

"I'll make the camp." Hiccup said once he noticed his dragon looking annoyed at them.

He led the Night Fury to where Astrid unloaded Stormfly's saddle. Hiccup quickly got the boards from Toothless and arranged a few of them in a small group, wanting to make a fire. Once he was sure that the fireplace was secure enough to not burn the pelts they brought with them he allowed Ild to ignite it. Then he arranged a few furs near the fire, making a small bed. He walked to the remaining bags and got an apple out of one, then he turned and looked content with his work at the small camp, taking a bite of the apple. He turned his head to look at Astrid and noticed that the light was slowly turning purplish. He smiled as he noticed Astrid sitting down, looking captivated towards the lights, slowly smiling at the change of color. He walked towards her and sat near her, she didn't even glanced at him.

"So now you are going to ignore me for this spinning ice block?" He asked, taking another bite of the apple.

"Maybe."

"That was not the answer I wanted to hear..."

"It's your fault for bringing me to this 'spinning ice block'." She said, slowly leaning on his side.

"So I take it that you like it here?"

"This is one of the most beautiful things I ever saw."

"The other ones being?"

"The sunset from the clouds. The rainbow from the clouds. Jàrnstarfa at night from the clouds."

"So, pretty much a lot of things from the clouds." Hiccup said, earning a weak glare from Astrid.

"Well, flying makes things more beautiful."

"I agree." Hiccup approved, taking a bite from his apple before Astrid took it from him. "I brought that for me, you know?"

"Too bad." She teased, biting the green fruit.

"You are mean."

"Sometimes." She confirmed. "Mostly when I'm hungry."

"Then let's go eat."

"I am eating." She said, taking another bite of the apple.

"So you don't want ostakaka?" Hiccup asked, slowly getting up.

"Cheesecake? From where?!"

"I bought from the village." Hiccup said, walking towards the bags that were laying near the fireplace.

"When?"

"Today, before we left." He responded, getting a small wooden box out of a bag and at the sight of that, Astrid quickly got up and almost ran towards him. "I figured that if we are in a cave, without the other vikings yelling and getting drunk, we might as well have some cake."

"Hiccup, you didn't have..."

"And I also brought a flask with wine." He interrupted her and she looked surprised at him for a few seconds, before starting to laugh. She carefully walked near him, trying not to hit the box he was holding and kissed him.

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Ild and Blad were sitting on the ice block in the middle of the lake, looking curiously at the hole in the ceiling, trying to understand its 'magic'. They tried to push the block, shot fire at it, but it didn't even budge, so the only explanation left for the colored lights was the sun light that hits the block. Blad flew above the block, blocking the sunrays and 'turning off' the lights, at which Ild shot a fire blast at him, panicked that he 'broke' the ice block and slightly afraid of Astrid's and Hiccup's disappointed looks when they wake up and notice the lack of colored lights, but as Blad dodged the attack, the lights came back on and both dragons sighed in relief. This time Ild flew through the light that came from the hole, getting the same result from the ice block as his brother. So the two Terrible Terrors got to the conclusion that the sun was what caused the colored lights. They both landed on the ice block and turned to look at the camp where Astrid and Hiccup were still sleeping. They noticed that neither Toothless nor Stormfly had returned yet.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, the Night Fury suddenly got up and started to run through the cave on the left side. The three remaining dragons looked confused after him and when he hadn't returned an hour later, Stormfly got up with the intention to search for him. That was more than seven hours ago and the two big dragons still hadn't returned, so now it was the duty of the two Terrible Terrors to protect Astrid and Hiccup from harm. So far so good.

From lack of anything better to do, the two dragons start to wrestle each other on the ice block, almost falling in the water twice. But they stop when they hear a loud whisper, unrecognizable to neither of them. Ild and Blad sneakily hid at the base of the ice block and look towards the camp, noticing four new persons there, looking like they were arguing, but trying to keep silent for the sake of the two sleeping persons.

"But how did they get here?" A rather short man whispered, pointing at the sleeping Astrid and Hiccup.

"How the heck should I know?!" Another man with a weird accent answered, still whispering.

"It can't be only the two of them. There is no way they could've carried so many heavy bags." A bulky man whispered, this one speaking norse very clearly.

"I told you not to touch anything!" A woman whispered annoyed.

"I didn't." The man quickly replied.

"Just shut up! You'll wake them." The shorter man whispered once he noticed Astrid moving a little in her sleep.

"What should we do with them?" The man with the weird accent asked.

"We should just leave them." Another man said, slowly walking towards the rest of the group, this one having a mostly red Terrible Terror on his shoulder. Ild and Blad quickly glanced surprised at each other before turning their gazes back at the group.

"They're kids! They probably don't even know where they are!" The woman said.

"So what do you want to do about them?" The man with the dragon asked.

"We can take care of them?" The bulky man said.

"We came here to hunt a dragon, not to babysit some kids that are probably lost." The shorter man said.

"What if they also came here for the Dead-Eye?" The man with the weird accent asked and the whole group took a small pause to glance at the two teens sleeping.

"Yea, I'm sure they'll just walk to the dragon and pet it and then the dragon will just obey them and protect them." The shorter man said.

"They _do_ have a lot of luggage for only two kids." The man with the dragon pointed out.

"They could be here with a bigger group." The bulky man said.

"You can't be serious!" The shorter man said.

"Just think about it, it makes perfect sense. Why else would they be here?" The man with the accent said.

"Collecting rocks, admiring the ice, not hunting a fricking Night Fury! They are just two fricking kids spending some time together!" The shorter man whispered harshly.

"And what kind of person would bring two kids to hunt for a dragon?" The woman asked.

"Vikings." The man with the dragon simply answered.

"The viking villages had been raided by dragons for the past three hundred years, so they use all the manpower they could. I started fighting dragons when I was ten years old." The bulky man explained.

"But they are just kids..." The woman sighed, glancing again at Astrid and Hiccup.

"Maybe we should try to protect them from the dragon?" The man with the accent asked.

"We came here to hunt the Dead-Eye. We can't spare anyone from the hunt." The man with the dragon said.

"But they could be killed by the Dead-Eye." The woman said.

"And so could we if we don't go as a team." The same man argued.

"Maybe they know something about the Night Fury." The bulky man said.

"And what do you want us to do? Sit here for them to wake up? We can't waste any time!" The man with the dragon said, slowly raising his voice.

"Good job big mouth, you woke them up." The shorter man said, making the whole group to look at a sleepy Astrid awkwardly stretching, trying not to elbow Hiccup.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about the story so far.**


	30. Fallen

**First off, sorry for the delay on this chapter, long story short, health issues. The next chapter shouldn't be delayed, but I can't promise anything at this moment.**

* * *

The Night Fury ran through the icy caves, shooting a weak fire blast from time to time to help him orientate around. It had been at least a few hours since he left the small camp, searching for a very faint scent he felt during the night. For the past few hours, Toothless was almost sure he was dreaming or imagining things. The dragon suddenly stopped in his tracks as he reached a bifurcation, Toothless released a weak purplish wave and glanced at each of the two tunnels. He had been here before. Three times. He looked behind him, from where he came and shot another weak purplish wave, wanting to test if he could still find his way back. After a few seconds the response came and confirmed him that he could still return back to his friends. He looked again at the bifurcation and shot a weak fire blast at the right tunnel, in a few seconds he got a response. There was movement somewhere in _that_ cave, somewhere at the end of it, but it was there.

He had to make sure that what he was sensing was true, so he started to run in that direction.

What Toothless felt a few hours ago, at the camp, was a very weak scent of another dragon, of another Night Fury. It had been more than ten years since he felt the energy of another Night Fury and he almost forgot how it was to not be the only one from his species. For ten years Toothless thought that he was the last Night Fury, and maybe now he would finally find out that that wasn't true. He hoped. The simple thought of not being alone in this world made him run faster, making him more eager to find the truth, but he was also trying to prepare himself for the possibility of really being the last Night Fury. In reality, he wasn't really _alone_, he had Hiccup and Astrid and the other dragons, but none of them were _Night Furies _and that made him feel somehow isolated and forgotten. Even if he grew used to the solitarily, the simple fact of not really knowing what happened to the rest of the Night Furies gave him a little hope and didn't allow him to ever get closure. He tried to force the idea that the dim scent he was feeling didn't really mean that there _was_ another Night Fury in those caves, it simply meant that there was a Night Fury here _in the past_ and that it lived here enough to imprint its scent and energy on the walls here.

But then how far in the past did that Night Fury live here? Maybe it just moved somewhere else.

Toothless released another purplish wave, searching for the movement he felt before at the end of the cave. To his surprise, it was getting closer. It was still pretty far away, but it was closing in on him. The scent of another Night Fury was slowly intensifying and the dragon couldn't stop but think that maybe this was all happening in his mind, that maybe he just missed his first nest and family so much that his mind was playing tricks on him, trying to give him hope, making him feel less lonely. But as he was getting closer to the end of the tunnel, the energy of another Night Fury was almost overwhelming, he was half expecting to wake up curled around Hiccup and Astrid who were both looking at the colored lights from the ice block. Maybe that ice block was indeed from that norse god and it cursed him, making him lose his mind.

That could be a possibility, but he never heard of a curse that actually worked on dragons before.

Toothless stopped, half thinking that he should return to the camp, if he was indeed awake, but then the weak sound in the overall silent cave of a dragon galloping towards him made him doubt his situation again. He remembered that once he ate a small white plant that made him imagine things and sounds and that he was flying again, but then Hiccup told him that he just jumped around for a few minutes then he fell asleep. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous his situation became, but he already ran for three hours straight, so what harm would cause him to run a few more minutes and meet the other dragon, real or not. He had nothing to lose. So he resumed his running, this time towards the sound. In not even a five minutes, a weak purplish wave approached him and the sound of galloping became stronger and stronger. Soon he realized that it was only a matters of seconds until he will meet the other dragon.

Toothless turned around a corner and then stopped in his tracks. Another Night Fury staying just a few feet in front of him. Both dragons were looking surprised at each other, even if the darkness of the cave made that slightly difficult. A weak purplish wave came from the other dragon, lighting the cave for a few seconds before it darkened again, but Toothless managed to get a good look at the other dragon. It was slightly smaller than him, its right eye was fully white, just a small straight line in the middle of it and a large scar from the right earflap to the snout was covering its face, but there were also small scars on the snout, head and back that weren't there the last time he saw this dragon. This time he released a weak purplish wave to light the cave, slowly walking towards the other Night Fury, just now he noticed that half of the left earflap was missing, most likely biten off by the looks of it. A strong sentiment of sorry washed over him as he looked at the other dragon. He could've prevented this. He _should've_ prevented this.

The two Night Furies slowly brought their foreheads together, sitting in silence. Toothless kept reminding himself that this could still be only a dream, that there was a chance that this isn't real. And he almost hoped that this was all in his mind. But he had to make sure, nonetheless.

'I thought you were dead.' He slowly said, waiting for a response from the other Night Fury. A part of him hoped that the response wouldn't come. If _this _dragon was indeed real, then all the loneliness he felt for all those years would turn into regret and sorrow.

'And I thought that from all the dragons, you would have faith in me.' The other dragon responded.

'The others are dead.' Toothless said after a small pause, now trying to accept that he wasn't the last Night Fury anymore.

'I told you not to do something stupid.'

'I'm sorry...'

'I didn't mean to blame you...' The other dragon tried to say but was interrupted by Toothless.

'I'm sorry for abandoning you.' He corrected himself.

'You would've died otherwise.'

'What happened to your earflap?' Toothless asked, backing away a little to get a better look at the scared injury.

'Wolves.' The other dragon simply responded.

'When?'

'More than seven years ago.'

'How did you get all those cuts and...'

'We haven't seen each other in more than twelve years and all you are going to ask is about my scars?' The other dragon interrupted Toothless. 'What happened to the others?'

'Melchior befriended a human. Then we had to fight the Queen to save him.'

'Humans are terrible creatures.' The other Night Fury commented.

'Not all of them.'

'Yes, all of them!' The other dragon barked, surprising Toothless before it backed away a little to look at him.

'_I_ befriended a human.'

'You are _Waelise_!'

'I was _Waelise _long before I met this human!' Toothless retorted.

'I was _hunted_ by humans for the past twelve years!'

'I _raided _Berk for ten years! Until this human took away my ability to fly...'

'And you are _defending_ him?!' The other Night Fury interrupted him.

'He gave it back to me.' Toothless said, bringing his tail closer to the other dragon, showing it the fake tail fin.

'He only did that to use you!'

'He's not using me!'

'Then what is it with this leather armor?' The other Night Fury asked sarcastically, slowly walking around Toothless and pointing at his saddle. 'Let me guess, he wants you to carry him. He wants you to fly him around, like bird.'

'I can't fly without him!'

'Because why would he want _you_ to fly without _him_?!' The other Night Fury barked, making Toothless to back away a few steps, taking him by surprise, 'What happened to you, Byleiptr...?' the dragon asked after a few moments with a disappointed look.

'He wouldn't do something like that...' Toothless replied lamely.

'Why wouldn't he do something like that?' The other Night Fury asked, stopping in front of Toothless.

'Hiccup's my friend!'

'If he would indeed be your friend then he would let you fly freely. Without him.' The two dragons stood in silence for a few minutes, until the other Night Fury continued. 'That human is only using you.'

'He is destined to make peace between dragons and humans.' Toothless said after a small pause.

'Sure he is. Just as Alvin the Treacherous was destined to create a tribe with all the murderers and thieves from the other tribes. Or just as Oswald the Agreeable was destined to bring peace between the viking tribes. But guess what, he's dead and now his son wants to rule the Barbaric Archipelago! There is no such thing as destiny. That was only a creation to make certain characters look 'greater' that they really are. This human, 'Hiccup', won't be able to achieve anything and he will fail. Dragons and humans can't coexist!'

'I'm the living proof that they can!' Toothless retorted.

'No! No you're not! He is just using you for his own goals, do you really think he would have second thoughts of sacrificing you to achieve his plan?!'

'He was the heir to the Hairy Hooligan tribe! He abandoned his tribe because he couldn't kill a dragon to prove he was a real viking! He was marked as a traitor for running away with me!' Toothless barked back, slowly approaching the other dragon with each word he said, trying to prove his point.

The Night Fury slowly backed away and looked aimlessly at the ground for a few seconds, before it responded. 'That's one case.'

'There are almost two hundred dragons who are willing to work with humans to achieve this goal! And there are more than three hundred humans housing and protecting those dragons from the other vikings! There could be peace in the Barbaric Archipelago. There is a real chance for that.'

'I want to meet this human.' The other Night Fury said after a small pause, walking past Toothless in the tunnel he came from. Toothless turned around slightly surprised and looked after the other dragon, until the Night Fury stopped and glanced back at him, making him to run to catch up with it.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Astrid shifted under the furs, slightly annoyed by the noises around her. She tried to continue sleeping but she just couldn't, so she carefully started to stretch, wakening her muscles, while also trying to not accidentally hit Hiccup. Suddenly, the noise stopped and she slowly got in a sitting position, she rubbed her eyes and then she yawned, unpleasantly surprised by the cold air above the furs. Astrid sleepy turned her head to look towards the ice block, wanting to see what color was it this time, but as her eyes landed first on two persons that were staying at about fifteen feet in front of her, she quickly got up and snatched her dagger that was sheathed near her boots, between the makeshift bed and the almost extinguished fireplace. She was now sitting slightly crouched on the makeshift bed, holding her dagger with her right hand, glaring at the persons that weren't here before.

"Relax kid, we are not here to hurt you." A bulky man said, slowly raising his hands like he was surrendering. He was tall and looked strong, almost like the typical viking, and his brownish hair and long beard only proved her point. She quickly noticed that he had a great war hammer on his back. Definitely a viking.

"Who are you?" She asked in a very serious tone, hitting Hiccup over his leg and slowly looking around to examine her surroundings.

"We are bounty hunters." A man with a funny accent said and it took Astrid a few seconds to understand his words, her eyes getting wider at the sudden realization. "We are here to hunt a dragon." He continued and she almost instantly relaxed, almost sighing in relief but deciding against it in the last moment. But then she remembered, _they_ came here _with_ dragons. She examined him and noticed that beneath a lot of thick furs he had a rather yellowish skin tone and a few face details she wasn't familiar with. This man wasn't a viking. He wasn't even from the southern lands which traded with Berk and Jàrnstarfa.

"What dragon?" She asked, hitting Hiccup again, this time earning an annoyed groan from him, then she quickly looked around, making sure that none of _their_ dragons were around.

"Dead-Eye." Another man said with a different accent, a lot easier to understand than the previous one. She turned to look at him. He was shorter than the others, on a closer look, he even looked a little shorter than her. He had short, almost red hair and carried a sword at his waist, smaller than a the usual viking sword but still a little longer than a gladius. Then she noticed a small bow on his back.

Astrid kept looking around her, noticing another man further away by the others. He had short black hair and a short bear, a heavy battle axe in his right hand and a red Terrible Terror sitting on his shoulder, looking intensely at her. She will worry later about _how _that man managed to train a dragon, there were more pressing matters right now. She kept looking around her and noticed a little closer to the fireplace a woman with long brownish hair, slightly leaning on a short spear that she was carrying. There were five persons in total, so there was almost no way for her and Hiccup to take them out on their own. She glanced at him and he was still sleeping, his head under the furs.

"For Thor's sake, get up!" She said, getting annoyed and hitting him again, this time harder.

"Stop that." Hiccup muttered, trying to cover himself better with the furs and continue sleeping.

"Bounty hunters!" She hissed, carefully glancing around, making sure that the others didn't hear her.

"You already woke me three times this week with the 'Bounty hunters, get up!' shtick." Hiccup said, a little too loud, making the real bounty hunters to glance slightly amused at each other, but that only annoyed Astrid further and she grabbed the furs Hiccup was wrapped in, pulling them off him, earning a glare from the sleepy boy.

"Bounty. Hunters." She said again, not even trying to be discreet this time and pointing to the closest enemy, which happened to be the bulky viking. Hiccup looked to where she was pointing and once he noticed the viking he quickly got up, grabbing his own dagger that was resting near the makeshift bed.

"Why didn't you wake me sooner?!" He whispered in an annoyed tone, slowly getting up and analyzing their situation. He was holding his blade with his left hand.

Astrid slowly got up with him, so now they were both standing up, each one of them looking in a different direction, only Hiccup's right shoulder was touching her left one, sending the message that they had each other's back, literally. But as Hiccup made his comment, she just had to turn around and smack his head, earning a weak glare from him. "None of the dragons are here." She whispered to him.

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking around, still whispering.

"Almost." She quickly looked at the short man as he took his bow and pulled an arrow on its string. "I haven't seen any of them." She continued, unimpressed by the bounty hunter's action.

"I think you should surrender your weapons." The short man said, pointing his bow at Astrid.

"They also said that they are looking for Dead-Eye, a dragon." She continued.

"How do we always manage to get ourselves in situations like this?" Hiccup asked sarcastically, before starting to whistle, looking at the red Terrible Terror on the man's shoulder. The dragon slightly cocked its head at Hiccup, before it quickly glanced toward the colored ice block. "I think Ild and Blad are hidden behind the ice block."

Astrid quickly glanced toward the underground lake, getting slightly annoyed as the light slowly turned red. "I hate red..." She whispered back, turning back to glare at the man with the bow.

"Why?" Hiccup simply asks.

"It makes this situation look more violent than it should be."

"I think this would be a violent situation anyway."

"I think my axe is somewhere in that bundle." Astrid said, glancing at the spot where the saddles and other luggage were placed. "If I get it quickly enough, we might have a chance."

"What if they took it already?" Hiccup asked in a whisper, still glaring at the bounty hunters.

"I suggest you surrender your weapons." The man with the Terrible Terror on his shoulder said, stopping as the dragon barked at them. "We will not hurt you and you will be free to go when the rest of your group will return."

"Why do I highly doubt that?" Hiccup asked.

"Distract them until I get my axe?" Astrid quickly asked, glancing at Hiccup just in time to see him nod.

"You have my word." The bounty hunter responded.

"I would feel better if we weren't talking with weapons in our hands." Hiccup responded, pointing at the axe the man was holding in his hand.

"And I would also feel better if you weren't plotting with your girlfriend to kill us." The bounty hunter said, making Astrid to quickly glance at him before returning her glare at the man with the bow.

"You are outnumbered and unprepared. It would be easier for everyone if you would just surrender peacefully, we don't want to hurt you." The woman said, speaking for the first time since this encounter started.

"It might be better to let them capture us and wait for Toothless and Stormfly to return." Hiccup said, glancing at Astrid and waiting for her response. She just furrowed her brows and kept glaring at the man with the bow for a few more seconds, then she sighed.

"Do you think this would work?" Astrid asked, slowly lowering her dagger.

"We will be unarmed, but also unharmed. And we will also have more time to make a better plan. Maybe we could take them by surprise." Hiccup responded, still looking at her.

"Hope this works." Astrid sighed again, tossing her dagger on the ground and slowly turning around to glare at the man with the dragon, who so far seemed to be their leader.

"We surrender." Hiccup said, also tossing his weapon on the ground.

"I hate those words..." Astrid muttered, looking at the tall viking as he was grabbing the daggers from the ground.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A few hours had passed and Astrid and Hiccup were both tied, back to back, sitting on the makeshift bed near the fireplace. At least the man with the dragon had the good will to relight the fireplace before they left, keeping them somewhat warm. Hiccup glanced towards the woman who was sitting near the opening towards the lake and looking bored at the ice block and at how it refracted the light. The other four bounty hunters left almost two hours ago, wanting to find the notorious Night Fury that lived in those caves. The woman, whom the others had referred to as Aquila, had offered to stay behind and look after them until their group returned. Well, they didn't know that the group was formed of two dragons that were supposed to save them, hopefully soon. But still, Aquila was a roman name and that worried Hiccup. The fact that she was a roman meant that this group of bounty hunters was formed of people from different places of the world, which meant that they were very experienced and that they traveled a lot, making them a lot more dangerous than Hiccup initially thought. Now that he was thinking about it, it was actually a good thing that he and Astrid didn't fight them, it could have ended very bad for them.

"What's the plan?" Astrid asked, her voice quiet, not wanting to attract any attention from the bounty hunter.

"We will wait for Toothless and Stormfly." He responded, his voice barely a whisper.

"Do you know where they are?"

"No." Hiccup slowly shooked his head. "But I have a feeling that this has something to do with the other Night Fury. And hopefully, it won't take too much more."

"I hope." Astrid sighed, slightly leaning her head on Hiccup's shoulder for a few moments, before starting to twist her wrists, managing to hit Hiccup in the ribs with her elbow.

"What are you doing?"

"This ropes are uncomfortable." Astrid muttered, stopping and sighing, visibly frustrated.

"You won't be able escape." The woman suddenly spoke, glancing bored at them.

"Wasn't trying to." Astrid replied, visibly annoyed.

"Good, 'cause you won't."

"Didn't you say that you would free us once our group returns?" Hiccup asked before Astrid had a chance to start a fight with the roman lady.

"Yes." The bounty hunter answered, getting up and slowly walking towards them.

"Then why are we still tied?"

"Because if you were not, you might try to get back your daggers and kill me since I'm alone here."

"You're right about that." Astrid said, glaring at the woman.

"I think we all got off on the wrong foot here." Hiccup quickly said, trying to be diplomatic.

"And what would you suggest?" Aquila asked, sitting near the fireplace and looking at them.

"Well, for starters, my name is Hiccup and she is Astrid, we are both from Jàrnstarfa."

"And you are telling her who we are..." Astrid muttered annoyed, looking frustrated at the ice ceiling of the cave.

"My name is Aquila, daughter of Appius, farmer in Dalmatia. "

"See, isn't this conversation better already?" Hiccup asked.

"What are you doing here?" The bounty hunter asked, ignoring Hiccup's sarcastic question.

"We came here to see the colored ice block." Hiccup answered.

"You came in a frozen cave, traveling miles of wasteland just to see a block in the middle of an underground lake?"

"When you put it like that..." Hiccup muttered before Astrid glanced surprised towards a cave to her left, making the bounty hunter to also look there.

"This conversation would be a lot better if me and Hiccup weren't tied and held hostage by a bounty hunter!" Astrid said loudly, glancing again towards that cave. Now the roman woman slowly got up and grabbed her weapons, looking cautiously towards the cave.

"What?" Hiccup asked Astrid, also looking confused towards the cave.

"Stormfly." Astrid said, smirking.

Aquila looked confused at her for a few moments before her attention was brought again back to the respective cave by a loud screech, just before a blue Deadly Nadder charged out of it towards her. The two Terrible Terrors that were hiding behind the ice block quickly flew at Astrid and Hiccup and began to chew on the rope that tied their hands together. As the Deadly Nadder was charging at the bounty hunter, Aquila threw her spear towards the dragon, managing to hit the left side of its head, easily cutting the scales and flesh on its way, but that didn't stopped the Deadly Nadder, instead the dragon turned towards its left, encouraged by the sudden pain on that side and brought its tail into view. Using the momentum of its action, the dragon shot five spikes from its tail towards the bounty hunter. The roman woman tried to dodge the projectiles, but still managed to get hit by two of them, one in her right leg and one in her stomach. She quickly fell to the ground, facing the dragon who was also laying down and crying in pain.

As soon as Astrid saw the spear hitting Stormfly, and thankfully not getting stuck in her scales, she tried to force the ropes that still weren't cut yet by the two Terrible Terrors and get up to run at her dragon. But her struggling only made the job of the dragon harder and before the ropes were finally cut, Astrid managed to get her right hand bit by one of the dragons before she was able to get up and run at Stormfly. She quickly kneeled down near the dragon and started to pet its nose, trying to calm her.

"Sh. Calm down girl, it's only a small cut." Astrid said, petting Stormfly, until she managed to make eye contact with her, at that moment, the Deadly Nadder instantly relaxed. "You saved us. And you got hurt by doing that..." Astrid continued, only now noticing her injured palm leaving blood stains over Stormfly's horn, "We'll take care of your wound as soon as possible." she said, slightly turning Stormfly's head to get a better look at the cut, "Its not that bad. It will heal in no time." She looked again at Stormfly's eyes before she tightly hugged the dragon's head. "Thanks Odin it's not serious. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."

Hiccup was just watching the scene before he remembered of the bounty hunter who was laying on the ground a few feet furtherer. He slowly approached the roman woman before he heard her speak. "I've never thought I'd be killed by a Nadder, of all dragons."

"Deadly Nadders are very powerful and intelligent dragons. Especially this one." Hiccup said, glancing at Stormfly who was still hugged by Astrid.

"You still won't be able to escape..." She said, trying to get a knife from her belt. Hiccup backed away when he noticed that, but then the bounty hunter said. "I won't try to kill you, there's no point..."

"Then what do you want to do with that?"

"I want you to take this weapon..." She said, tossing the knife on the ground, towards Hiccup. "And give it to Secundus Gallus, in Tarraco. He'll know what that means."

Hiccup took the knife from the ground and carefully examined the writings and symbols on it. "I don't know where that is. And I'll probably never have the chance to find out."

"Then at least kill me with it." Aquila said, making Hiccup to look surprised at her, "It's not like I would survive this." she pointed to the spike that was in her abdomen. "And I do believe that she will not make it quick after what I've done with her dragon..."

"You're right, she won't." Hiccup said, slowly approaching the bounty hunter.

"And it's better to be killed by a kid named 'Hiccup' than by a dragon, even thought, not by much."

"Let me tell you something." Hiccup said, kneeling near her and bringing the knife to her throat, "I was the heir of Berk and I've been banished from the village, befriended a Night Fury and became Fáfnir. Now there are more than three hundred vikings who are willing to accept dragons in their village because of me and her. So you should be happy that someone like me is here to end your life." He finished, slightly glancing at Astrid when she mentioned her.

"I would laugh if it wouldn't hurt to do so." The roman woman said before slowly closing her eyes. With a flick of the wrist, Hiccup ended her suffering.


	31. Damage

The two Night Furies walked through the ice caves mostly in silence. Except from the few words they shared just to make sure that they were going in the right direction, the two dragons remained quiet, just glancing at each other from time to time. Even if they were siblings all those years ago, the simple fact that one of them defended a human while the other didn't created a conflict between them, all those times when they saved each other's lives were meaningless in front of an action that literally screamed 'betrayer'.

There were times in the past when dragons managed to establish a peaceful relation with the humans, but those were only a few isolated cases and those dragons and humans ended being killed by their counterparts. And the idea that an entire viking village was hiding and protecting a large number of dragons was unheard of. Even if by some miracle the dragons and humans were able to coexist, a dragon such as a Night Fury still wouldn't be able to survive in such a community, the rarity of this species made them quite the trophies, both from humans and dragons. The simple fact that Byleiptr was still alive and able find this cave was a surprising, but the idea that he only managed to achieve that only because a _human_ helped him was too much.

'How were you able to survive on your own for so long?' Toothless asked, making the other dragon to glance at him before returning his gaze on the tunnel.

'I ran from island to island and only hunted when I really needed to. I slept in dark caves in order to not be seen and only flew during the night.' The Night Fury simply responded.

'Skað, I'm so sorry...' Toothless said after a small pause.

'I haven't been called 'Skað' in a very long time.' The dragon replied melancholically.

'What's your name now?'

'The humans call me 'Dead-Eye', because I can't see with my right eye and they somehow managed to figure that. It's quite clever, actually, and it also has a ring to it.'

'They call me 'Toothless'.'

''Toothless?'' Skað asked, glancing surprised at the dragon and stopping in her tracks.

'Hiccup came with that name.'

_'Your_ human named you _'Toothless'_?'

'The first time we properly meet he thought that I didn't have any teeth. And the name remained.'

'Toothless?' Skað asked again, this time more amused than surprised.

'Yes, 'Toothless'...' The dragon replied, getting slightly annoyed.

'Toothless, the Tamed Night Fury.' Skað teased, slowly increasing her pace, glancing back to see an annoyed Toothless glaring at her.

'I'm not 'the Tamed Night Fury'!' Toothless barked back.

'I still believe that _your_ human is only using you. But he has a sense of humor, I'll give him that.'

'What makes you think he's using me? And don't say that I can't fly because of him.'

'Humans are greedy creatures. They care of nothing but themselves and their well being.'

'That's not true!'

'Then answer me this,' Skað said, stopping and turning to face Toothless. 'If that human wouldn't have taken away your ability to fly, would you still be here, now?!'

'Yes!' Toothless answered.

Skað looked surprised at her brother for a few moments before saying. 'I don't believe you.'

'Almost ten months ago, I was sent to raid Berk.' Toothless began to explain, 'Everything was going well, but after we got the food and we were supposed to fall back, Hiccup shot me down with a bola. He actually made a device that shot a bola further than any human could throw it. I fell in the woods and the next morning he found me.' Toothless took a small break and looked sad on the ground. 'At first he wanted to kill me, since I'm a Night Fury, but then he released me. Just like that.'

'Why...?'

'He said that he saw himself. Helpless, scared, simply waiting for his imminent demise. In the following month he tried, and managed, to win my trust. He fed me when I couldn't hunt on my own, he made me a new tail fin and we learned to fly together. Then one day, he had to kill a Monstrous Nightmare to prove his worth to the village, but he ran away with me. Since then we're trying to show dragons and vikings alike that they don't have to kill each other. Than they can live in peace.'

'That's a nice thought... But it will never happen...'

'It's already happening!' Toothless said, a little too sudden, making Skað flinch a little. 'It is really possible! One of the biggest villages in the archipelago already accepts dragons and protects them. And once the smaller villages see how good dragons are when you don't try to kill them, then they'll also start to warm up to us. And in the end the rest of the bigger villages will have to give up under the pressure.'

Skað just looked at her brother for a few moments before slowly starting to say. 'I believe you.'

'Everything will be alright, you'll see.'

'I just hope you know what you're doing. I really hope that you haven't forgotten everything that happened and how we got here. I just want the annoying brother that I missed for the past twelve years.'

'I won't abandon you again.' Toothless replied, slowly bringing his forehead to Skað's.

'Then let's get you to your human, Toothless.'

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Astrid was sitting near Stormfly, petting her scales and trying to keep the dragon calm, while Hiccup was searching through the things they brought for some cloth, to make a bandage for the wound. They already washed the injured area with the clean water they brought with them, but that was not enough to stop an infection, they would still have to properly patch up the wound once they had everything they needed, but a simple, clean bandage would have to do for now.

"So you haven't managed to find Toothless?" Astrid asked her dragon, glancing towards Hiccup, only to see him cursing under his breath and tossing a bag on the ground.

'I caught his scent for awhile, but then I lost it when I reached a bifurcation. It was confusing. It felt like there was another Night Fury somewhere.'

"The bounty hunters said that there is another dragon here, Dead-Eye. Maybe that's why Toothless just disappeared in the middle of the night. He felt another Night Fury in those caves!"

"I just hope that he's alright." Hiccup muttered, walking towards the girl and her dragon, holding one of his green tunics in hand.

"You haven't found anything else?" Astrid asked once Hiccup handed her his tunic to use as a bandage for Stormfly.

"Not really. And I have plenty of those, it won't be missed." He commented, slowly petting the Nadder.

"Thanks." Astrid said, starting to rip the material in a few long strips. She gently placed one of the bigger scraps of the tunic on the wound, covering it, then she tied the strips on two of Stormfly's spikes, one of them on each side of the cut, successfully managing to hold the piece of fabric on the wound, covering it almost completely. "That will do for now." She muttered, looking at her work, slightly disappointed. Stormfly deserved better than this.

"Now we just need to wait for Toothless and then we can get out of here." Hiccup said, walking back to where the bags and everything they brought was and started to pack things up.

"Found my axe?" Astrid asked, slowly bringing Stormfly closer to the fire before going near Hiccup to help him.

"Here it is." He simply said, handling it to her once she was near him.

"Do you think we'll manage to leave before they return?" She asked, grabbing the furs that were on the ground, near the fire place and carefully wrapping them before putting them in a backpack.

"No."

"Then we'll need to make a plan, Hiccup."

"I know..."

"We can't let them have the upper hand. They already got us of guard once, I don't want it to..."

"I know!" Hiccup snapped, looking annoyed at her before sighing and looking sad on the ground. "I'm sorry..." He slowly added.

"It's alright." Astrid said, quickly walking in front of him and cupping his face, making him look at her.

"It's just that... Things haven't really gone as planned..."

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about that now. And on the other hand, it was pretty fun; until we got ambushed and held as hostages."

"Yea..." Hiccup said before Astrid gave him a peck, effectively stopping him from complaining.

"And you also killed a roman, now you can finally make Bjørn shut up about raiding that roman ship two months ago." She said, backing away and grabbing Stormfly's saddle, slowly walking towards the dragon and placing it on her back.

"I guess." Hiccup said, walking towards the Deadly Nadder to help Astrid arrange the saddle. "I just wish things would've gone better."

"Me too." She replied once Stormfly's saddle was well arranged.

"Anyway, we should be able to hold our ground this time. Now we have Stormfly."

"But she's already injured..." Astrid said, regretting this course of action but knowing well enough that this is their best plan. Wait until Toothless returned and if the bounty hunters arrive back here before that, fight them.

"It would be enough if she would just stay behind and shot spikes at them."

'I'm fine.' The Nadder replied, getting up from near the fire and stretching her wings, trying to look bigger than she was.

"You're already hurt and those men know how to fight, even dragons. The roman woman said that she's disappointed that she had to be killed by a Deadly Nadder..."

'That roman dog.' Stormfly barked, interrupting Hiccup.

"That means that she fought other dragons stronger than you and she managed to defeat them." Hiccup continued, unimpressed by the Nadder. "Two of those men are vikings and the other two I have no idea where they are from, so we have to be careful."

"I agree." Astrid said, walking and sitting near the fire. "If Toothless shows up first do you think we should just leave?"

"Yes." Hiccup answered, sitting next to Astrid.

"But I want a rematch."

"If we fought them when we first met them, I think we would be dead now."

"If we fought them _then,_ we _would_ be dead now. But _now,_ we actually _stand_ a chance." She replied, slightly leaning on his side.

"But why does this even matter to you?"

"I had to surrender, to just give up, and that's not _alright_, Hiccup."

"You would've died otherwise..."

"I would've died fighting."

"And please tell me how would that benefit _me_?" Hiccup asked, looking at her.

"It wouldn't have..."

"I care too much about you to just let you throw your life away."

"I know that you never really cared about all this viking stuff, but we are not supposed to just _give up_..."

"We are both banished."

"From _Berk_." Astrid added. "Nobody forbid us from being what we were born to be, _vikings_."

"And you want to fight them because they insulted your honor?" Hiccup asked, half sarcastically.

"Yes." Astrid answered, noticing but deciding to ignore the sarcasm in his question.

"Give me your dagger." Hiccup said after a small pause.

"No."

"Astrid..."

"You gave me that saying that its special. This dagger and yours were the first you made with Gronckle Iron and that's why you inscribed runes on them, because they were first of a kind."

"Astrid, you have an _axe_ while I have only one dagger. Don't you think that my chances of survival would be greater if I had two weapons?"

"So we _are_ going to fight them?" Astrid asked, looking at him.

"Didn't you want that?"

Astrid chuckled. "But what if you get hurt?"

"Then I'll blame you for not helping me."

"Then I believe you'll need this." She replied, handling him her dagger. "I don't want to have you on my conscience."

"It's nice to know that you don't want me to die."

"Don't be so dramatic."

. . . . . . . .

It had been more than half a hour until someone finally showed up. In that time Stormfly hid behind one of the ice pillars, so that if things went south, she could easily jump in and surprise the bounty hunters. And that scenery seemed very likely in their current situation.

The four bounty hunters slowly walked into the icy chambers through the tunnel that Astrid and Hiccup initially came from. As soon as they noticed the duo casually sitting by the campfire they slowed their movement and prepared their weapons. The man with the bow remained slightly behind the group while the others slowly walked towards the campfire, constantly glaring at Astrid and Hiccup. They stopped at more than twenty feet by the fire before the man with the dragon spoke.

"We were actually going to let you go, you know. You were just two kids in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and we were really going to let you go." The man sighed, glancing around, most likely looking after the roman bounty hunter's body. "But you fucked up your chances now."

"This is quite funny." Hiccup said, slowly getting up and grabbing the two daggers sitting on the ground, "I actually don't believe that you will be able to kill us." He glanced at Astrid just to see her tightening the grip on her axe and glaring at the bounty hunters.

"Is that so?" The bulky viking asked, holding his war hammer in one hand, like it was just a toy.

"You can still run, like the cowards you are." Astrid taunted once Blad landed on her shoulder and Ild landed near Hiccup.

"Seems like you are not the only one who feeds dragons, Ragnvaldr." The man with the bow commented, noticing the two Terrible Terrors.

"Seems like." The bounty hunter replied, glancing behind him before the dragon on his shoulder jumped into the air, flying around.

"We still haven't found Dead-Eye." The bulky viking said, glancing at their leader.

"We'll worry about that dragon after we deal with those kids." The bounty hunter simply replied, just before an arrow was shot at Hiccup, which he easily dodged.

"This won't be a fair fight, right?" Hiccup sarcastically asked, looking at the bulky viking as he was slowly approaching him.

"Why would it be?" The bulky viking asked, trying to take a swing at Hiccup, which the boy easily dodged by rolling out of the way; but by doing that, the teen also managed to leave a cut on the man's leg, hopefully slowing him down, but the bulky viking didn't even flinch.

"Thought so..." Hiccup muttered once he got up, quickly glancing at Astrid to see her fighting the other bounty hunter, who handling a sword, while the man with the dragon simply stood back and watched the fight.

Astrid was actually having a pretty easy time fighting her enemy. This bounty hunter was pretty agile and rather skilled with his weapon, but it was still no match for her. Years of training made her quite the warrior, and once she started to train with dragons, which were much stronger and agiler than humans, she most likely became the most skilled warrior in the Barbaric Archipelago. Even after a surprisingly quick recovery from her past injury, she easily managed to surpass Hiccup, who helped her train for awhile, and soon after that, she managed to defeat her father in single combat, surprising most people on Jàrnstarfa. Even now, she dodged the sword that was aiming for her neck and delivered a turning kick, making the bounty hunter fall to the ground. She smiled proudly as she easily bested the man in combat, but her win was short lived as she noticed in the last moment an arrow coming at her. She tried to dodge it but the arrow still managed to leave a small cut on her left cheek. In reflex she moved her hand to check the fresh cut, groaning once she noticed the blood on her hand.

The bounty hunter she was fighting quickly got up and charged at her, taking advantage of her inattention. This time she parried the attack and let the man stumble and fall behind her. She turned and glared at him, but she quickly realized that now the bowman was behind her, so she ran towards the man that was trying to get up and grabbed him by his arm, literally helping him get up just in time to put him in front of the arrow that was aimed at her. The arrow hit his shoulder, almost managing to go through the flesh, splashing her with his blood. The bounty hunter dropped his weapon and looked almost pleadingly at her, but she was never a compassionate person. He could still be a problem, after all, soon he'll get over the shock caused by the pain and grab the sword with his other hand and charge at her. So she slightly pushed him away before delivering a strong hit with her axe at the man's right leg, making him fall on the ground in pain. She was almost sure that she didn't hit hard enough to maim the man, but he still wouldn't be able to walk on its own for awhile.

Now that her opponent wasn't getting up, Astrid took the time to glance around her. She noticed the Ild and Blad fighting the other Terrible Terror, easily winning the fight. A little further was Hiccup holding his side, slowly backing away from the bulky bounty hunter, which had at least eight Nadder spikes in his abdomen; which slightly surprised her, she didn't even hear Stormfly, but now the dragon was walking to stand near Hiccup. And finally, she noticed the leader of those bounty hunters, walking towards her, axe in hand. She tightened the grip on her own weapon and took a few deep breaths before the man released a battle cry and charged at her.

At first, the planned seemed simple enough, when the bounty hunter was close enough, she just had to roll past him and with a quick move, burry her axe in his back. The first step went as good as it possibly could, she rolled past him and when she was preparing to get up, the bounty hunter grabbed her hair and wrenched her, making her stumble backwards, falling on the ground with a yelp. Before Astrid could even comprehend what happened, the bounty hunter stepped on her right hand, the one holding the axe, immobilizing it; and suddenly this scenario looked very familiar. The man slowly raised his axe and before he could deliver a fatal blow, she swiftly twisted her body to be able to kick the man knee pit, making him fall on his back. Astrid quickly got up and looked after her axe, noticing it on the ground, but the bounty hunter was between her and the weapon, so it was out of limits for now. A small yelp made her glance towards Hiccup, just to see the boy being thrown to the ground by the bulky viking, then she noticed a broken arrow in Hiccup's right shoulder.

"No!" She yelled and tried to run towards him, but then again, the bounty hunter managed to get a grip on her hair and pull her back before throwing her to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. Two strong hands surrounded her neck and slowly lifted her off the ground. At first, he pushed her towards an ice pillar, her back painfully hitting the frozen stone, before he started to lift her, her feet no longer touching the ground. She tried to breathe, but the simple action was impossible.

"Not so tough now, huh bitch?" The bounty hunter mocked her. She tried to kick him, but that didn't weaken his grip, it only made him laugh. _That bastard!_ "You see your boyfriend there?" He asked, turning his head to look at Hiccup. "He only managed to hold his ground for so long because of that dragon. But he'll die."

"No..." A weak sound managed to escape Astrid's lips. She looked over to where Hiccup was, only to see him laying on the ground, Stormfly staying between him and the bulky bounty hunter, but the man with the bow was already readying another arrow.

"You put up quite the fight, I have to admit that, but you still lost." The man continued, slowly tightening his grip on her neck. A few small tears leaving Astrid's eyes as she started to hit him more violently, in a last attempt to make him free her, that only brought a small smirk on his face.

A small purplish explosion hit the bounty hunter's shoulder, making him drop her and back away, grabbing his now injured arm. Astrid fell to the ground and coughed, taking a few deep breaths as the cold air started to fill her lungs. She tried to get up and look around, wanting to understand what happen, but as she tried to get up, she started to feel dizzy, in the end making her stumble back down. She took another deep breath and used the ice pillar for support this time, but just as she managed to stand on her feet, she noticed that the man with the bow was now missing and just a moment later, she was violently thrown back to the ground, a large paw landing on her chest, pinning her to the icy floor. She opened her eyes to see a black figure staying over her, glaring menacing at her, one of its eyes fully white. Before she could say anything, the Night Fury opened his jaws and started to fill its mouth with greenish gas, a scene Astrid saw a few times before and she knew exactly what it meant. This dragon was going to kill her.

"Toothless! No!" She yelled the first think that came to her head, trying to push the dragon away; to her surprise, it stopped. The Night Fury slowly closed its mouth and backed away a little.

'Skað! What are you doing?!' Toothless barked, somewhere further to her right.

'She's not the enemy?' The dragon on top of her asked.

"No!" Astrid yelled in response, making the dragon to look slightly apologetic at her. But before the scaly beast could release her, the bounty hunter leader recovered his axe and tried to attack the Night Fury, only for the dragon to manage to catch the weapon in its mouth, not letting the viking to retrieve it, no matter how hard he tried to pull it.

Astrid tried to squeeze out from beneath the dragon, now that it wasn't trying to hold her down, and search for her axe while the bounty hunter was busy to fight with the Night Fury. The girl noticed her axe just a few feet away from where she was standing. She quickly ran and grabbed it, turning around to see the man still trying to recover his own weapons from the Night Fury's hold. So she took this chance and charged at the bounty hunter, burying her axe in his back, blood slowly starting to become visible from under the furs. Astrid took a few deep breaths before she released the weapon and ran towards Hiccup. She noticed the bowman laying on the ground near an ice pillar, serious burns on his face and upper body, most likely dead; the bulky viking laying on the ground just a few feet further, Nadder spikes in his abdomen and other cuts on his arms, legs and face, but surprisingly, he was still breathing. But he'll still most likely die in a few minutes from so much Deadly Nadder poison, if not, he'll surely die from the injuries the spikes had caused him.

Once she arrived near Hiccup, she quickly kneeled down by his side and cupped his face, "Hiccup?" she asked with a weak voice, when he didn't answer, she brought her head down to face, wanting to make sure that he was breathing alright.

"Ouch!" Hiccup flinched.

"What?" Astrid asked.

"You hit me with your braid."

"Oh." She replied, noticing her braid standing over her left shoulder, touching the arrow coming out from his wound. She slowly backed away, not even trying to hide the smile on her face knowing that Hiccup was alright.

"Why don't you move to the other side?" He asked, half opening his eyes to see Astrid get up and moving to stand at his left side.

"I need to patch you up."

"The arrowhead is still in my shoulder." Hiccup said, slowly shaking his head.

"Then we just need to slow the bleeding and get you to a healer as fast as possible."

"Sounds good enough."

'What happened?' Toothless asked, slowly walking towards Astrid and Hiccup.

"Bounty hunters, but everything's alright now, thanks to you..." Astrid began to say, turning her head to look at Toothless, but stopping once she noticed two Night Furies, at that moment she quickly remembered that not even a minute ago she was pinned to the ground and almost killed by one of them, "You almost killed me!" she continued, pointing at the dragon with one white eye.

'She's my sister Skað.' Toothless said, walking between Astrid and the other Night Fury. 'She had no idea who were the enemies, that was only an accident.'

"She almost killed me!" Astrid said again.

'Does she understand us?' Skað asked, looking confused at the argument the dragon and human had.

"Yes!" Astrid answered, still visibly angry.

"Astrid." Hiccup said, also looking at the argument.

"What?!"

"Help me up a little." He answered, extending his left arm waiting for Astrid to grab it and help him get up, which she did after glaring one last time at Skað. "Thanks." Hiccup said, slowly walking towards Toothless, scratching the dragon's scales once he was near him. "I'm happy you're alright, bud."

'I'm sorry I was late.' The night fury crooned, nuzzling into the boy's uninjured shoulder.

'Is this Hiccup?' Skað asked, looking surprised at the boy.

"Yes, I'm Hiccup." He answered, slowly walking towards the other Night Fury, left hand carefully extended in front of him.

'What's he doing?' The Night Fury asked worried, looking confused at his hand.

"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you."

'Back off!' Skað barked when Hiccup was about a foot from her, making the boy stop.

"I won't hurt you." He prompted, but the dragon did nothing to show that she changed her mind.

'Skað had some bad... experiences with humans in the past.' Toothless defended his sister.

"Haven't we all?" Hiccup asked sarcastically, still keeping eye contact with the other Night Fury. "Are you the dragon called 'Dead-Eye'?"

'That's the name you humans gave me.'

"Would it be fine by you if I call you 'Skað'? I think it fits you a lot better than 'Dead-Eye.'"

'I haven't been called that in a long time...' The dragon replied melancholically.

"I don't want to name you if you don't want to." Hiccup said, glancing at Astrid as she brought him piece of fabric to put on the wound, to slow the bleeding.

"Use this." She said, pressing the cloth on the wound, making Hiccup curse under his breath, "What was that?" she asks, a little amused by his reaction.

"Warn me next time, will you!"

"Hm... No. I like to surprise you." She teased before backing away and grabbing a backpack that was lying forgotten on the ground. "Anyway, we should get going."

"We should leave what we don't need here."

'Skað is coming with us.' Toothless quickly interjected.

'What?!' The other dragon asked surprised.

"If she wants to." Astrid said, glancing at Hiccup.

'Toothless said that you managed to convince an entire village to protect dragons.' Skað said, looking at Hiccup.

"Yes, that's true."

"He didn't say anything about me?" Astrid quickly asked.

'I forgot about you.' Toothless answered, looking apologetic at Astrid, who just rolled her eyes and grabbed another bag from the ground.

'Do you really believe that most vikings can live in peace with us dragons?' Skað asked.

"Most vikings want to stop fighting with dragons by any means necessary, so a lot of them would be willing to live in harmony with dragons, if that would stops the bloodshed."

'Well, there are also those vikings that just hate dragons, like Stoick, Dagur and Mogadon.' Stormfly said, joining the conversation.

"But there are also dragons who just hate vikings. So it's pretty much equal." Hiccup said, glancing at Astrid who was hanging a few bags on Stormfly's saddle.

'Can you promise me that nothing bad will happen to Toothless, and me?'

"I... I can't..." Hiccup said, looking sad on the ground. "A lot of people hate us for doing what we do, so we have a lot of enemies, and a lot of them manage to get close to us. Since we started doing this there had been at least twenty groups of people that tried to kill us."

'Humans?' Skað asked surprised.

"Yes, humans. And a few times they were close. Really, really close." Hiccup said, looking at Astrid who was also looking sad at him. Both remembering that sad week when everybody thought that she was going to die.

"But we are still here." Astrid quickly added, returning to her work at Stormfly's saddle, "And also, only me and Hiccup were targeted. Stormfly and Toothless were there only to save the day. Sometimes." She turned to look at Skað. "So, you and your brother should be fine."

'I don't want to leave my brother again...' Skað said, slowly walking towards Toothless.

'So you'll come with us?' The Night Fury asked.

'Yes, I'll try to help you make peace.' Skað answered, just before Toothless tackled her.

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please leave your opinion about this story so far.**


	32. Leaving

**It seems that I can't be trusted to keep a schedule anymore :(**

**But this is the longest chapter in this story so far, that has to count for something, right?**

* * *

It had been more than a month since Skað arrived on Jàrnstarfa and the dragon still tried to avoid the village as much as possible, always trying to hide in the forest with other dragons that stayed there, even if she wasn't too fond of them anyway. All Toothless's attempts to make his sister stay at one of the dragon stables in the village failed, so Astrid and Hiccup went almost daily to the forest to try and calm the new Night Fury. When Skað first arrived in the village, with the ships, most of the villagers came to greet their chief and the men that returned from their journey, but Skað took the great number of vikings as a sign of aggression and when a little kid tried to pet the new Night Fury, she panicked and flew off towards the forest, hoping to hide there from the villagers. When Astrid and Hiccup went after her, joined by their dragons and Heather, the dragon didn't even tried to hide the fact that she was paranoid and rather afraid of the great number of humans on this island. Once she saw Heather and felt that she killed dragons before, she charged at her, only to be stopped by Toothless. In a few weeks, the Night Fury was used to the almost constant presence of the three dragon riders, but she still acted rather hostile towards anyone else, still being very paranoid.

It had also been almost a month since Cuyler returned from his small trip to Berk, bringing good and bad news alike. A little before Astrid and Hiccup went on their trip on her birthday, Cuyler left on a trading boat from Jàrnstarfa to Berk, wanting to establish a trade contract between the two great villages, but also to try to put an end to this whole bounty hunter problem. At first he was welcomed with open arms by Berk, until he told them the 'official' reason why he was there. It seemed that there were some persons that moved from Berk to Jàrnstarfa, searching for a better life, and that caused some hate from the Berkians towards the other village. So in just a matter of seconds, all the friendly welcomes turned to hateful scowls and curses; that was from most villages, but still, Gobber welcomed his old friend and provided shelter for him despite the protest of the other vikings. In the end, the villagers allowed him to stay on Berk for a full week before threatening to throw him out by force. So Cuyler got straight to business, he asked to talk with the chief, Stoick, whom summoned the council to hear out the old warrior. The chief politely refused the trade deal between the two villages, knowing the tension the foreign weapons would cause in the village, so Cuyler got to the real reason why he bothered to come back in his village without his dragon and his daughter.

( flashback thingy )

"I found them." Cuyler simply stated, causing some murmur from the council, except from Gobber who got up from his chair and almost yelled.

"Why in Thor's name haven't you said anything earlier?!"

Cuyler just looked sad on the ground, effectively causing the council members to assault him with questions and comments like 'Where's the traitor?!' 'I hope you killed him!' 'He was nothing but a runt anyway,' but Stoick kept silent. The Berkian chief just closed his eyes and sighed, before saying in a quiet voice, but still full of authority. "Get out."

"Hiccup was a traitor of Berk! We HAVE the right to know what happened to him!" Spitelout said, getting up from his chair and glaring at the chief.

"Get out of the bloody Great Hall!" The chief roared towards the council members, making most of them get up in an instant.

"I'm not moving from here!" Gobber quickly replied, sitting back in his chair.

When Stoick didn't react to Gobber's action, Spitelout also tried his luck, saying. "I want to know what happened to—…"

"Spitelout," Stoick calmly interrupted, his voice low and serious, leaving no space for arguing. "I don't have the will to argue with you right now. Get out of my sight."

This time the viking complied, walking after the other council members outside the Great Hall. As soon as only the three warriors remained in the hall, Stoick got up from his chair and grabbed a tankard off a table and filled it from a nearby barrel with mead. The chief slowly walked to a table across the hall and sat at it, slowly drinking his mead. Both Cuyler and Gobber walked and joined the chief at the small table. They sat in silence until Stoick nodded towards Cuyler, allowing the viking to talk.

"I found them inside a small cave, on an island, a little more than a month ago." Cuyler lied, looking at Stoick's expression getting sadder.

"How were they?" Gobber quickly asked.

"They were dead."

"Thor's beard..." Gobber muttered, looking aimlessly at the table.

"How... How did they die?" Stoick finally asked, his voice low and full of sorrow.

"Astrid managed to kill Hiccup. And…I guess that she didn't manage to escape his dragon..." Cuyler slowly responded.

"How do you know they were... well, _them_?" Gobber asked, raising his eyes to meet Cuyler.

"The boy, he had an axe in his chest. The axe had Berk's mark on it and the symbols of my family. That was Astrid's axe."

"Gods..." Stoick murmured, bringing his right hand to rub his eyes before resting his head in his palm.

"What about the dragon?" Gobber asked.

"A Night Fury was near Hiccup's body, guarding the boy by how it looked. But the beast also looked like it hadn't moved in a long time, that it didn't eat for a long time. It looked weak, so I put it out of its misery. Then I made a pyre for both of them."

"I did this..." Stoick suddenly said, making the other two vikings to look confused at him, "I killed them..." he added.

"Stoick, you couldn't have known." Gobber tried to say but he was interrupted by the chief.

"I banished him. I banished him then sent the best warrior from Berk after him. What else could've happened, Gobber? I should've just left him alone. He had always been... different... I shouldn't have forced him to be something he's not... " Stoick sighed. "I killed your daughter, Cuyler. They are both dead because of me."

"They died like warriors, Stoick, they died like vikings! Just think about it. Your son, Hiccup, was the first person to see a Night Fury and live; even more, he lived with a Night Fury by his side for Thor's know how long. And Astrid, my daughter, was the first viking to fight a Night Fury, even if she died. She was the first one to kill a dragon rider. I'm not saying that you did the right thing by banishing them, but they both achieved great things and they both died with honor." Cuyler said, patting Stoick on the back. He really wished that he could tell him the truth, that Hiccup is now one of the most important persons in the Barbaric Archipelago and that he'll change the viking ways forever, but most likely Stoick wouldn't understand. Not yet at least. And Cuyler also didn't have the right to reveal Hiccup's true identity, that would be something that the boy would do on his own. When he was ready.

"I failed as a chief... I send Berk's heir and its most promising warrior to their deaths...I failed as a viking...I brought dishonor upon my family...upon my tribe..." Stoick slowly raised his head and looked towards the fire pit, "I failed as a father..." he continued before he sighed. Then the chief slowly got up from his chair and started to head towards the wooden doors of the Great Hall, with slow steps, his head lowered and looking aimlessly on the ground.

It truly hurt Cuyler to see an old friend like that, but it had to be done. It was the only way. At first, Stoick blamed Hiccup for allying himself with the beast and betraying the vikings. Before he left to find his daughter, he witnessed the chief blaming dragons for taking his wife and manipulating Hiccup to turn against his own tribe. But now, now the chief started to blame himself for everything that happened, he started to blame himself for the mischief of the tribe and the death of his son.

Soon after the chief left the Great Hall, Cuyler also got up from his chair and pated Gobber on the back. "Take care of him, will you?"

"Who'll take care of me?" The blacksmith asked, half trying to joke but failing, not even raising his head to look at Cuyler.

"Gobber, listen to me." He said, making the old blacksmith to look at him. "Things will change for the better in the nearby future."

"How...?"

"Don't take everything I say literally." Cuyler said, turning around and starting to walk towards the exit of the building.

"What do you mean...? Are they...?"

"You'll keep this between you and me." The viking interrupted again. "No one will hear any of this!"

"Where are they?! Where is Hiccup?!" Gobber asked louder, getting up from his chair and walking towards Cuyler as fast as his wooden leg allowed him.

"I don't know." Cuyler answered, walking away from the blacksmith.

"Gods dammit Cuyler!" The blacksmith cursed, managing to catch Cuyler's right shoulder with his hook extension on his wooden hand.

"You should visit Jàrnstarfa when you can."

"I don't care about that cursed village!"

"They have very skilled blacksmiths. I personally know one of them and I have to say that I'm surprised by the weapons he manages to create, he really had a good teacher."

"Cuyler, I don't care about any of those bloody blacksmiths!"

"He's very young, only sixteen. And he also has a great mind." Cuyler said, slightly smiling as Gobber's eyes widened in surprise.

"You mean..."

"Don't tell anyone. Especially Stoick. No one must know." Cuyler said, turning around and resuming his walk towards the wooden doors of the Great Hall.

"Where you going?" Gobber asked after the few seconds it took him to digest the new information.

"I'm returning to Jàrnstarfa."

"Hel you are! I'm coming with you!"

"You need to take care of Stoick." Cuyler stopped.

"If my apprentice is alive..."

"You'll visit him after you make sure that Stoick will be alright!" Cuyler interrupted, glaring at Gobber, when the blacksmith didn't respond he continued. "You'll visit him _after_ you make sure that Stoick is doing fine and after Berk has a capable leader. I think that Stoick expected the news of Hiccup's death a long time ago, but he was never prepared to actually hear them. Just make sure he won't go on a murderous rampage or something until then." Cuyler finished, resuming his walk to exit the Great Hall.

"You're one sneaky old yak." Gobber commented under his breath, looking as the other viking was exiting the huge stone building.

( end of flashback thingy )

Once Cuyler arrived back on Jàrnstarfa, his welcome was totally different from the one he got on Berk. He was welcomed by all the villagers that could make it to the port in that snowy day, but he only wanted to see two villagers in those moments and it wasn't long until he found them. Astrid and Hiccup were sitting somewhere at the edge of the crowd, waiting for him to make his way to them. Cuyler smiled once he got to talk with them, happy to deliver the news that there wouldn't be any more bounty hunters looking for them; he decided to let out the part where Stoick was devastated and was blaming himself for everything that happened. Now half of his job was done, but he still had to tell them the other important thing he found out when he was on Berk, so he delivered the bad news only the following morning, at the local inn where Astrid and Hiccup always slept since their initial island was mostly inhabitable by humans because of this cold winter. He woke the two teens up and brought them breakfast, looking content at their happy expressions, really having second thoughts about telling them now and ruining their good mood. But Astrid had the right to know, so Cuyler went to his daughter and hugged her, slightly surprising the girl, he then slowly said the words that made the great Astrid Hofferson cry, soon enough he cursed himself for doing this do his daughter.

Astrid hugged her father tighter and buried her face in his shoulder, not even trying to hide the fact that she was almost breaking down. The scenery seemed very similar to a day where Astrid came back home with her small puppy in her arms, hugging the poor dog to her chest, she was only eight then. He still remembered that day. It was a warm afternoon when Astrid went playing with her puppy in the forest, there she was attacked by a Terrible Terror, but her dog jumped in to defend her. In the end she panicked and ran away, leaving the poor dog alone to fight the dragon; after the dragon left, she returned and helped her injured dog, carrying the poor puppy back home, hoping to be somehow saved by her mother or even the village healer, if it was needed. But the small puppy was too injured and that devastated Astrid. Sadly for her, these news were far worse than the lost of her puppy, even though there were both caused by a dragon.

Cuyler's marriage was a political one, meant only to unite two rich families, so he never really 'loved' his wife. Of course they spent lots of years together and their relation was good overall, but it never went so far to be named 'love'. He got used with her in his life, he even enjoyed her presence and support, he loved the daughter that he had with her, but the news of Hertha's death, his wife's _death_, didn't affect him as much as he initially thought it would. But seeing Astrid like this, crying her soul out for the lost of her mother and knowing that there is nothing he could do to help her, that's what hurt him.

It had been almost a week until Astrid started to be her old self again. At first, after she received the devastating news and slightly calming herself, she asked what happened. She was slightly content when she found out that her mother died like a warrior, protecting another viking, in turn achieving her a ceremonial boat, which was a great honor for any viking. The following two days Astrid pretty much isolated herself from the village, locking herself in the room at the inn, making Hiccup sleep at the forge, a thing that he did many times before when he worked on one of his gadgets. Even so, Hiccup didn't have a problem with being kicked out, she just asked for some time to grieve on her own, but that did little to ease his worries. He never saw her like this. So, somewhere at the end of the second day since Astrid locked herself, he went at the inn and tried to talk to her.

( another flashback thingy )

Hiccup knocked two times on the wooden door, waiting for a response. When it didn't come, he thought about leaving, thinking that she might be sleeping or something, since it was rather dark outside. It took him more time than he would like to admit to figure out what to do to help Astrid and even now he didn't have a proper plan. But he had to try, so he knocked again, saying. "Astrid, I'm worried about you. Please open the door." This time she complied. She dragged something heavy over the wooden floor, most likely the thing she used to block the door and after a few seconds Astrid slowly opened it, most likely having seconds thoughts about this. Once Hiccup had the chance to see her, he was really surprised. She was a mess. Dark circles around her eyes, her hair only half braided, even so, pretty sloppily, she was wearing one of his tunics, surprisingly fitting her pretty well, reminding him that he wasn't a lot bigger than her, and she was also wearing her leggings. She was looking at him with tired and puffy eyes. He never saw her like this before.

"Mind if I come in?" Hiccup asked, now feeling sorry that he hadn't come sooner.

Astrid just backed away from the door, allowing Hiccup to enter the room. He quickly glanced around the room, being unpleasantly surprised by how it looked. The fire had been extinguished for at least a few hours, making even the hallway of the inn warmer than the room, the chest where they stored their clothes was dragged to the right side of the door, only confirming the idea that Astrid used it to block the door, a flickering candle was slowly dying on the table near a few pieces of bread and a mug with water and the bed was full with piles of furs and pillows, he wasn't going to ask Astrid from where she managed to get those things.

"Did you eat anything?" Hiccup asked, only to see her slowly shaking her head, not even looking at him. "How much did you sleep in the past few days?"

"Not a lot..." Astrid responded in a weak voice, making Hiccup sigh.

"Do you mind if I stay here for the night?"

"Hiccup, I don't want you to see me like this..."

"And I don't want you to be like this. Let me help." He pleaded.

"How...?"

"I don't know..."

"I don't want you to see me like a crybaby." She said, wiping her tired eyes.

"I don't want to let you go through this on your own. Would it help if we talked?"

"I guess..." She answered, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Then let's try this." He said, walking to her and telling her to lie in the bed, then making a cocoon around her from the furs and pillows Astrid somehow managed to acquire. He then also got in the bed with her and tried to cover himself from the cold of the room, but Astrid instantly hugged him and he happily hugged her back. It took them a few minutes to get comfortable in the pile of furs and pillows, but after that, they were actually pretty cozy. Maybe it was a good thing that Astrid somehow procured so many pillows. If nobody would ask to get them back, he definitely wouldn't complain.

"I love my parents." Astrid began to say after a few moments of silence, "Even when I was banished, I knew that I would've been executed if they hadn't convinced Stoick to let me live. When I found out that I had to kill you in order to ever return on Berk, I was actually quite happy. I knew it would be an easy task." She stopped once she noticed Hiccup's slightly hurt expression, "But I was wrong. And I'm happy that I didn't kill you." she continued and he smiled a little, subconsciously also making her smile, "And I hoped that with your help and with the dragons we would someday return to Berk and be welcomed as heroes. The two vikings who brought peace on Berk." she said in a slightly happier tone, but then her voice got sadder, "But as time passed, I understood that I was way too hopeful, that a change like that wouldn't happen overnight." She closed her eyes for a few seconds before she continued, small tears falling from her eyes, "The thing is...I have a dragon. I could've visited them. I could've sneaked in Berk and visited them. I _should have_...But I was too afraid that they wouldn't accept me anymore after they found out that I have my own dragon. And that scared me." Hiccup hugged her tighter, encouraging her to continue. "I had so many chances to visit her and say goodbye to her in the past year. But I didn't... And that's the thing I regret the most, I never said goodbye to her..."

"You couldn't have known that would happen."

"I _should've_ known... She was living _alone_ in a village that was constantly _raided_ by dragons...I'm the most terrible, selfish, stupid..." She started to mumble, silently sobbing.

"Astrid!" Hiccup interrupted her, cupping her face, making her look at him. "You are not a terrible person. You're actually the most amazing person I know."

"I..." Astrid tried to say but was interrupted by Hiccup again.

"I can't even count all the times _you_ risked your life to save me or somebody else. And you might be shortsighted, but not stupid. Never." He paused, wiping her tears with his thumb. "Your mother loved you and she always knew that you'd achieve great things. In the last year _you_ saved tens of vikings and dragons by convincing them that they could live in peace. I don't think that she would want you to stay here and cry when you could do so many more great things. It's alright to grief her, but don't blame yourself for something that you couldn't have changed."

Astrid closed her eyes shut and rested her forehead on his shoulder, a little too forcefully, still sobbing, while Hiccup moved his hand on her back in a soothing motion, trying to calm her. "I always thought that after all this...I would just return home and everything would be... normal..." She murmured, earning a small kiss on the top of her head from Hiccup. "This... event...made me realize that we're all...weak..."

"You're not weak." Hiccup interrupted.

"I... I really don't know what I would do if I lost... lost y-you..."

"You won't get rid of me that easily." Hiccup replied, earning a small chuckle from Astrid.

"You're an idiot."

"I'm _your_ idiot."

They stood in silence for a few moments before Astrid asked again. "Hiccup?"

"Yes?"

"Do you... Do you promise not to... go away…?" Astrid hesitantly asked, slowly raising her head to face him.

"I promise." He answered, giving her a quick kiss. "I won't leave your side even if you want me to."

"I hope."

"Now get some sleep."

"Hiccup?" She asked again after a few minutes.

"Yes, Astrid?" He asked slightly amused, turning his head to face her.

She just looked into his eyes for a few moments before she said, almost in a whisper. "I love you."

"I love you too." He happily replied.

[ . [ { . } / . \ { . } . ] . ].[ . [ { . } / . \ { . } . ] . ].[ . [ { . } / . \ { . } . ] . ] . [ . [ { . } / . \ { . } . ] . ]

Heather was slowly walking through the forest, going to the clearing where Skað lived, knowing that there is where Toothless and Stormfly usually spends their time, in turn making Astrid and Hiccup to also go there almost daily to interact with Skað. They also used to train there a lot of times. And since Heather had already been at the inn and at the forge where Hiccup works and haven't found them in neither of those places, she was almost certain that she would find them here.

As she was approaching the clearing, the sound of two dragons wrestling almost confirmed her thoughts. Soon she was able to see what was going on, and she was not surprised when she noticed Toothless wrestling with Skað, a thing the two dragons did a lot in the last month; and by the looks of it, Skað was beating Toothless, again. Toothless always said that he was a better fighter than his sister, but what Heather saw in the past few weeks made that statement very hard to believe. As she walked into the clearing she noticed Stormfly looking slightly bored in her general direction, with Astrid and Hiccup close by, sitting near a tree, making out. A sight that was very common for anyone who knew the young couple.

"You look like two wolves mating." She commented, walking towards them, being slightly amused once Astrid backed away a little and got off her hood from her head in order to glare at her.

"I thought you wouldn't come here today." Astrid replied, getting off Hiccup and helping the boy get up.

"I wanted to talk to you two." Heather said with a rather sad voice, starting to pet the Deadly Nadder.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked, noticing her slightly gloomy attitude.

"I... I want to thank you two for everything you thought me in the past few months. For helping me understand dragons and teaching me how to take care of them or how to protect myself against them."

"Heather, what's going on?" Astrid asked, quickly changing her frustrated attitude to a worried one.

"I believe that I learned everything I could've from you two, and I really don't think that I would ever be able to repay you for all the help you had offered me."

"Heather?" Hiccup asked this time, sharing the same worried expression with Astrid.

"I'm leaving Jàrnstarfa." The girl responded after a few moments of silence.

"Why?" Astrid instantly asked.

"I've met more than one hundred dragons since I've met you two and I haven't bonded with any of them."

"You will one day. You just have to find the right dragon that is willing to trust you with its life." Hiccup explained.

"That's the point." She replied, petting Stormfly again. "I think I'll have higher chances to find a dragon if I go on my own."

'You could die on your own.' Stormfly said, glancing towards Toothless and Skað who both stopped wrestling to stand near Heather, wanting to find out what's going on.

"Stormfly's right!" Astrid said.

"I can't understand her." The brunette girl simply replied, proving her point.

A thing that Hiccup discovered quite a while ago was that when a human bonds with a dragon, the dragon marks his human, effectively changing the way his or her brain works, so that the dragon can feel its human's moods to a point or when he or she is in danger. And the same applies for the human, but on a smaller scale. So in time the connection between them becomes so strong that the human gets to perceive the small sounds a dragon makes when its talking with other dragons, in turn allowing the human to understand dragonese. This process had happened so far with Astrid and Hiccup, and on a smaller scale with Cuyler.

"She said that you could die on your own!" Astrid translated.

"She's not wrong." Heather replied, looking at the Nadder and hugging her big, scaly head. "But I still have to do this."

"Why? You could just wait until more dragons join us." Hiccup said, looking sad at Heather as she went and hugged Toothless, who nudged her with his head, like asking her to reconsider.

"I've seen how you act with your dragon. They trust you completely, and you trust them. You know that if something bad happens they wouldn't hesitate a second to come to your rescue, and the other way around. I want a bond like that with a dragon. I want to be able to trust such a magnificent creature with my life." Heather said, carefully petting Skað's head, half expecting the Night Fury to back away and bark at her, but when the dragon didn't react hostile towards her, she smiled. "Hiccup, the first dragon you met was a Night Fury, and you bonded with him. And the first dragon Astrid met was a Deadly Nadder, and again, she bounded with her."

"Toothless tried to kill me the first time I met him." Hiccup quickly pointed out.

"And Dilandau almost killed me when I first met. I'm still afraid of Monstrous Nightmares."

"You can't leave!" Astrid suddenly said, making Heather and Hiccup to look slightly surprised at her.

"I've met over one hundred dragons and none of them trusted me enough to bound with me; in some cases, I don't trust them enough." She stated again. "And you both found your dragons from your first tries! And even Cuyler! The guy that killed hundreds of dragons has a dragon the size of three houses! You can't blame me for being frustrated by that."

"And that's why you want to leave? Because you are annoyed that you haven't found your dragon yet?!" Astrid asked, a little too harshly.

"That's one reason. The other is that I believe it would be faster to go and find a dragon that would trust me than to wait for him or her to come to me." Heather replied, slowly walking towards Astrid and Hiccup. Once she was in front of them, she slowly opened her arms, wanting to hug them. But Astrid held her ground, glaring at the brunette girl. "Don't be like that..."

"Come on." Hiccup said, slightly pushing Astrid towards Heather.

"Don't tell me you take her side!" Astrid threatened.

"She's right. There is nothing we can do to help her anymore. She needs to find her own dragon." Hiccup replied, receiving a glare from Astrid. "There's nothing we can do to stop her."

"But she doesn't have to..." Astrid began to argue before she was brought in a clumsy hug by Heather, which the blonde hesitantly returned, "We are friends... You don't have to go..." Astrid tried to convince her once Heather slowly backed away, discretely rubbing her right eye.

"I hope that we can still be." The brunette replied, glancing at Astrid before she went and hugged Hiccup.

"Just make sure to visit when you can." Hiccup said once Heather released him.

"I'll try..." Heather replied, rubbing her eyes again, "Gods! I'm sorry," she sniff, "I really wanted to tell you sooner but I just... couldn't..."

"Where are you planning to go?" Astrid asked.

"Ísland." Heather simply responded, "I'm leaving in an hour with a trading boat. I hope to find some dragons there and win their trust and if I don't bond with any of them, I guess I'll just keep searching." she shrugged, trying to make the situation less dramatic than it actually was.

"Hope you'll find what you're looking for." Hiccup said, looking at Heather as she slowly nodded.

The brunette girl slowly turned around and took a few steps towards the way she came from, before her emotions got the better of her and she turned around and hugged both Astrid and Hiccup again, "Take care of you, guys." she said once she released them and this time she really turned around and walked towards the village.

It had been more than three hours until Astrid and Hiccup returned back in the village with their dragons, half hoping that Heather panicked or reconsidered and gave up on her plan to go away, but no such luck. It wasn't long until they realized that they hadn't really gave her a good-bye gift, so Hiccup quickly ran to his forge to grab and pack a Gronckle Iron shield and a hatched in a decent sized wolf pelt, while Astrid prepared Toothless and Stormfly for a quick flight. In less than twenty minutes the duo took off and found the boat Heather was on, so they discretely landed on it and found the girl watching the sea with a bored expression; she hadn't noticed them. So Hiccup ripped a page from his notebook and wrote a message on it, leaving it visibly on the wolf pelt. Then Astrid placed the packed equipment somewhere close to Heather so that she'll notice it. Then they simply left.

Heather had been staring at the falling snow gently landing on the blue water for more than half a hour, letting her mind wander. She would lie if she said that she wasn't having second thoughts about this, but now it was too late. Too late to return on Jàrnstarfa, and also the sun was starting to get overwhelmed by the snowy clouds, like it wasn't cold enough. She wanted to find a nice place in one of the hide tents built on the deck to protect from the snow and provide some warmth, and it seemed like a good idea to 'reserve' one before evening. So she turned around and started to walk towards the closest tent, but she tripped on something after just a few steps.

"Thor's beard!" She cursed, slowly getting up and glaring at the fur bundle that was on the ground, "What the...?" she noticed a piece of paper on the small fur pile and she grabbed it.

'Heather, you forgot this,' was written on it.

"I didn't forget anything." She said under her breath, starting to uncover what was hidden by the wolf pelt. She gasped surprised once she noticed the silver like shield, carved with runes and faint drawings, "They didn't!" she said surprised, loud enough to make a few sailors to look confused at her. She carefully grabbed the shield, only to notice a hatchet under it, also with runes carved on the wooden handle and on the iron blade. She carefully traced the runes with the tips of her fingers before she said under her breath, but visibly happy, "They actually did." then she quickly placed the hatchet on her belt and grabbed the shield by its leather straps placed for a better grip on the inside part.

"Those selfless idiots." Heather laughed, looking proudly at the shield. She quickly wiped a tear that escaped her eye, "Thanks." she whispered quickly, starting to look at the sky, half expecting to see them on their dragons looking at her and waiting for her reaction. But after she didn't see anyone riding a dragon, she said again, "Thank you." before she grabbed the wolf's pelt from the ship's deck and made her way towards the closest tent.

[ . [ { . } / . \ { . } . ] . ].[ . [ { . } / . \ { . } . ] . ].[ . [ { . } / . \ { . } . ] . ] . [ . [ { . } / . \ { . } . ] . ]

Hiccup was idly hammering at a sword, slowly turning and hitting the red metal in order to remove any small imperfection from the weapon. A thing that he learned while working with Gronckle Iron was the he had to be a little quicker than working on a normal sword, or any weapon for that matter. Usually this special type of iron cools faster than the usual iron, making the time in which it's moldable so much shorter. It wasn't a few times Hiccup managed to break a sword in two because the iron cooled too quickly, then he had to reheat the metal and start again from the beginning, luckily this type of metal heated as fast as it was cooling down, so it didn't take as much time as it would otherwise. He stopped a little and took a quick look at the rod that will soon become a real sword, analyzing it, before returning and hammer at it a few more times, soon after that he placed the hot rod in a nearby bucket full with water, quenching the metal. He then got the rod out of the bucket and analyzed it for a few seconds, smiling content at another job well done. Then the young blacksmith placed the rod on a shelf near other fifteen like it, all done in the past few days. He would only have to make a handle for each one of them and then sharpen the dull blades, but that was a job for another day. He went to a nearby barrel and took the small tankard that was near it, filling it with water and drinking half of it in one gulp. That barrel was used to provide a small drink for the blacksmith when needed or to refill the bucket that was used to quench the iron with water.

Hiccup really liked to work in at the forge, especially when it was cold outside. It was so warm in the forge when the windows and door were closed that he could just stay in one of his tunics and simple pants, not having to carry ten extra pounds of fur and hides in order to not freeze in the winter. Even now he washed his face with warm water from the barrel, not even being worried about catching a cold or other nonsense like that. He quickly glanced towards Astrid who was sitting on a table near one of the far walls of the forge, resting her elbows on her knees and her head on her palms, most likely she fell asleep because of the warmth of the room and the rhythmic hammering he had been doing for the past hours. It wasn't the first time this happened. Since Heather left, one week ago, Astrid started to spend a lot more time with Hiccup, spending a few hours daily at the forge, just watching him work, and almost always falling asleep in less than two hours. He glanced towards the barrel with water, half thinking to wake Astrid up, even if she would most likely be mad at him for doing that, but now seemed like the perfect time to have his revenge.

So he only filled half of the tankard with water and slowly approached Astrid. Just as he initially thought, she fell asleep awhile ago. He quickly looked around the forge, thinking for the best escape plan that wouldn't destroy the workplace in the process, after not finding any possible solution, he approached Astrid and with a quick move threw the water from the tankard on her face and by the time he heard a small yelp coming from Astrid he was already on the other side of a table situated at a good twelve feet from where she was standing.

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled after him, quickly wiping the water from her eyes.

"Yes?" The boy answered, faking an innocent voice.

"What in the nine worlds is wrong with you?!" She got up from the table and started to walk towards him, glaring daggers at him all the time.

"Nothing?"

"So you just threw a tankard of water at me because you were bored?" She asked sarcastically, starting to walk around the table to where Hiccup was only to notice that he was moving in the opposite direction she was, so she wouldn't get to him.

"I mean, you're pretty much sleeping at my workplace and that's not really alright." He answered, keeping eye contact with her.

"Then what would you want me to do?! Go in the forest and train?! The snow is at least a foot tall outside!" She replied, vaguely pointing to the door, still slowly walking around the table to get to him, only for Hiccup to mimic her movement.

"I didn't say that."

"Then?"

"You could go by the docks and help the merchants? You used to do that."

"When there weren't enough people in Jàrnstarfa, but now that there are, they don't need me there anymore."

"Teach some of the kids how to fight?"

"Nobody is mad enough to go outside on a weather like that!"

"Then you could help clear the roads. I'll get you a shovel and you can get right to work."

"So that's why you threw a tankard of water at me? To kick me out of the forge?" She stopped and asked, at which Hiccup also stopped, staying exactly on the other side of the table that she was.

"First off, I'm not kicking you out. I'm just suggesting something for you to do since I noticed that you are quite bored since Heather left. And second, you know that I wouldn't throw a tankard of water at you for no good reason. I only threw half a tankard at you so I wouldn't need a good reason."

"That's it!" Astrid said, quickly getting on the table and charging towards Hiccup.

"Oh no..." Was all Hiccup managed to say before Astrid tackled him from the top of the table and pinned him to the ground. She easily managed to immobilize his legs between her own his hand above his head.

"So I don't even deserve a full tankard of water?" She asked with a smug smile.

"I miss the days when I was faster than you..." Hiccup slowly muttered, earning a small laugh from Astrid.

"You were only faster than me for _one day_, before I had to stay at the healer hut for two weeks. Then I easily surpassed you."

"Is that so?"

"You are in no position to argue." She replied, slowly lowering her head just enough to steal a kiss before quickly backing away.

"So that's what you're going to do? Tease me until I say sorry for waking you up?"

"Maybe." She replied, still smiling, before they both stared laughing for a few seconds, until Hiccup asked.

"So you're not going to let me get up?"

"Not until you apologize."

"For what?"

"For throwing a tankard of water..."

"Half a tankard." Hiccup quickly interrupted her.

"_Half a tankard_ of water at me, to wake me up!"

"But you used to do that all the time!"

"So?"

"You never apologized!"

"You never managed to defeat me, not to mention pin me down."

"You're not wrong, but it's still not fair." Hiccup said.

"So if I apologize, you'll feel better?"

"Yes." Hiccup answered, just before someone opened the forge's door, allowing a wave of ice cold air to enter the forge.

"This is better than the Niflheim outside." A man's voice said, easily recognized as Cuyler's.

"Quick, get there!" Hiccup whispered at which Astrid quickly lowered herself to not be seen over the table, still on top of Hiccup.

"Where?" She quickly asked.

"There." Hiccup pointed to under the table once Astrid freed his hands, which was nicely shadowed by all the devices and pieces of equipment that were between the hearth of the forge and the respective table. Astrid quickly complied and Hiccup followed her close by, both hiding under the table, looking towards the forge's door as two persons entered it.

"Why?" She asked, but Hiccup quickly silenced her by placing his hand over her mouth.

"You aren't really allowed to be here." He answered in a whisper, looking at Cuyler as he closed the door after the other man, which was rather fat. Astrid furrowed her brows in confusion, making Hiccup continue, "Horkman told me to tell you that you aren't allowed here anymore since you are 'distracting' me from work." she chuckled a little at Hiccup's explication before she also turned her gaze towards the unknown man that was with her father in the forge.

"That's weird, he should be here at this time." Cuyler said, glancing around the forge, most likely looking for Hiccup.

The duo was still hiding under the table, spying on the two man in silence, until Hiccup felt something warm and wet on his palm with which he was covering Astrid's mouth. He quickly retrieved his hand and looked confused at her, she wasn't even looking in his direction, "Did you just lick my hand?" he simply asked.

"Maybe." She answered, keeping her gaze towards the unknown person, not even glancing towards Hiccup to see the weird look he was giving her.

Suddenly the unknown persons said, in a strong Scottish accent. "I've waited almost a year to see the lad, I can wait a day more."

"Is that..." Astrid began to say, looking surprised towards Hiccup.

"Gobber." He finished for her, quickly getting up from under the table just as he and Astrid's father were about to exit the forge, "Gobber!" he called his old mentor.

"Hiccup?" The old blacksmith asked surprised, turning around just to see the boy slowly walking towards him with shocked eyes. As soon as Hiccup was close enough to him, Gobber literally jumped towards him, grabbing the boy in a bear hug and raising him from the ground.

While Gobber was busy hugging Hiccup, Astrid slowly got up from under the table and watched the scene with a big smile on her face, she even laughed when Hiccup asked for air. Soon enough the old blacksmith released Hiccup and noticed Astrid, they both shared a hug, less asphyxiating that the one Hiccup had, and now they were both standing in front of the blacksmith.

"Last time I was you two," Gobber began to say, "you," she pointed at Astrid, "were supposed to kill him." He finished, pointing at Hiccup.

"She's terrible at her job." Hiccup quickly commented, earning a smack over the head from Astrid, who would've commented something back in another circumstance, but deciding against it, wanting to let Hiccup to have his moment with his old mentor.

"I almost didn't recognized you." Gobber said, slowly analyzing both teens.

"It's not like you were going to give a bear hug to any person you see." Hiccup replied sarcastically.

"At least you haven't changed. You're still the smart ass you always were. The thing I don't understand is how Astrid manages to put up with you. Thor's knows how many times I wanted to throw you out of the forge for ruining a weapon or making an annoying comment."

"They're actually betrothed." Cuyler said, joining the conversation, almost starting to laugh once he saw Gobber's dumbfounded expression. "They would've been officially married if Hiccup wasn't declared a traitor to the viking ways."

"About that." Gobber said. "What happened to that dragon of yours?"

"It seemed that it only protected me because I was feeding it. After I ran away and wasn't able to provide fish for it, the dragon just abandoned me on an island. And I was lucky enough to be found by Astrid, who initially wanted to kill me."

"But he looked just so sad and miserable that I just couldn't bring myself to end his life." Astrid began to say, grabbing Hiccup's arm. "Then we just traveled around the Barbaric Archipelago, fought bounty hunters, managed to start a life in this village, and soon after that, my father found us."

"Hold up a few moments." Gobber said, looking suspicious at both teens. "You both stole from Berk and then flew away on the back of a dragon. What's with that?!"

"The Night Fury that I ran away with managed to find me again, somehow, after I've met with Astrid. Only that this time it had a rider, Fáfnir." Hiccup said after he changed a quick glance with Astrid.

"He easily recognized Hiccup and made us to steal weapons and equipment from you. Sorry about that." Astrid began to say. "But after I've been injured by Snotlout, Fáfnir abandoned us on an island. And Hiccup took care of me. After that we started to become... a thing."

"Aha." Gobber said, now feeling slightly sorry for everything they had to went through at such a young age, "Then if you two should be married, is Astrid pregnant?" the blacksmith asked, surprising everyone in the room.

"No!"

"Gods no!" The two teens answered almost at the same time.

Gobber howled in laughter. Just like old times.


	33. The Plan

A tired Hiccup ran through the forest, pressing on his right shoulder, trying to ease the annoying pain coming from it. He quickly glanced behind him to see if his foe was still pursuing him, once he saw that nobody was after him he started to slow down, stopping near a tree to rest near it. He was breathing heavy from running so much. He slowly sat down near the tree, leaning heavily on it, again glancing around him, half expecting to be caught, but after he saw no one in the vicinity, he turned to glare at a small device he was holding in his right arm. For any other person that device would look like a simple sword handle, without a sword. But Hiccup actually managed to 'hide' the blade inside the handle and he was able to 'release' the blade with the simple turn of a small switch, discretely placed at the top of the device. He turned the switch and three sharp iron pieces quickly rose from the handle and placed themselves on top of each other, locking themselves in place with a loud click, creating a decent sized sword. The boy looked at the weapon, half surprised that this prototype still worked after all the beating it took. Then he quickly remembered that he hadn't won yet, so he sighed and forced himself to get up, using the sword for support.

"There you are," a voice said, but Hiccup tried to ignore it, being more focused on getting in a fighting position than to hear Astrid's sarcastic remarks. A thing that he still cursed himself for 'teaching' her. "I brought you the sword you dropped quite awhile ago." She continued, looking slightly confused at him, but once he managed to stay on his own and hold the sword with both hands, she snapped at him. "That's enough for today!"

"I'm not down yet." Hiccup simply replied, looking exhausted at an Astrid that didn't even seemed winded. After the constant snowing stopped and the weather was more pleasant, the duo had resumed their training in the forest, a thing that Astrid was very eager to do. In the past two weeks since they started sparring again, Astrid just seemed to be a lot stronger than before, even if she hadn't really trained at all, and that wasn't really good news for Hiccup. Even if their usual sparring matches lasted a little more than ten minutes and with breaks between them, Hiccup still ended quite exhausted in just a couple of hours while Astrid looked like she hadn't even broken a sweat. And it was also not a surprise that she was winning most of their small duels, in turn making Hiccup slightly annoyed and more willing to best her in combat.

"You can barely walk! Your shoulder is bothering you again! We need to go to the healer!" She almost yelled at him, walking towards Hiccup. But the boy was still holding his ground and once Astrid was close enough, he tried to attack her, but the girl easily dodged the blade and backed away a few steps from him. "For Thor's sake..." She muttered, grabbing the sword handle that Hiccup dropped awhile ago and twisting the small switch, making three metal pieces to pop out from the handle and climb on top of each other, creating a sword just like the one Hiccup was using. At first, this was a simple duel between the two, supposedly the last one of the day, but after losing most of the encounters this day, Hiccup was really frustrated and annoyed, so he really wanted to win the last fight, but things weren't really going his way, so once he realized that he was losing again, he started running in this direction, hoping that he would have time to rest a little and maybe ambush Astrid, in the end granting him the win. But he was still very tired and she was holding his other sword. Astrid was simply glaring at him, her axe strapped on her back since she didn't care that much about the duel, she already gave up the fight. She was holding his sword in her right hand, having a tight grip on the handle, then she simply placed the blade on her left palm and made a small cut, flinching a little as the blade cut deep enough to leave a small scar. "There you go. First sight of blood. You won!" Astrid said, twisting the small switch again, making the blade to retreat into the handle.

"Why did you do that?" Hiccup asked, slowly lowering his sword and looking slightly sad at Astrid, who was now walking towards him.

"You wouldn't give up, so I did. We really need to take care of your shoulder," She said, giving him back the sword she used to cut her hand.

"I'm sorry..."

"Tis but a scratch," she said wiping the blood from her palm on her blue shirt, leaving a very noticeable stain that probably won't wash out.

"We really need to change the rules," Hiccup commented, still holding his shoulder and looking very tired.

"If you want." Astrid simply replied as they both started to walk towards the village.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The two teens were at the healers hut, the elder was examining Hiccup's shoulder. It had been almost three months since the encounter with those bounty hunters on Ísland and Hiccup's right shoulder was still annoying him almost every day. And the only person to blame for that was an incompetent healer from a village from that huge island. Even if at first, the injury didn't look that bad, soon after the adrenaline faded the real pain started to show up. The way Astrid was pressing on the wound to stop the bleeding didn't really help. It hurt like Hel and she would've traded anything to ease the pain. Was this how he felt when she was injured? Soon after they left the cave the duo landed near a nearby village in the middle of the night, they left the dragons hidden in the trees and she quickly carried Hiccup to what looked like a healer's hut, which luckily it was. So they woke up the healer and begged her to treat Hiccup, which she did. But the slow and sloppy methods the old woman was using almost made Astrid want to strangle her. It took her more than ten minutes to prepare a something to ease the pain for Hiccup, which a competent healer would've done in five, and the way she removed the arrowhead, damaging the injured area even more and causing Hiccup a lot more pain, it took all her strength to not grab her axe and throw it after the woman; even she could've done a better job with the wound. Not to mention the negligent stitches and bandaging. Even now, after the wound healed, the scar was looking terrible, an amalgamation of pink and skin colored lines crossing each other in the most ungraceful way. One of the things that calmed the pain was a tight bandage over his right shoulder, but that sometimes made his whole right arm go numb. But the healer from Jàrnstarfa kept saying that the wound would heal in time, if he only let it.

"Astrid, be a dear and bring me that bowl," The healer said, waking her from her daydreaming. She quickly got up and went to the table the healer was pointing at, there was a small bowl filled with a whitish substance that smelled funny. She grabbed the bowl and brought it to the old woman, who soaked a small piece of cloth in the bowl before placing the cloth on Hiccup's shoulder, over the scar. "This is the only thing I can do to ease the pain. You must let your body heal on your own."

"I've been letting it heal for the past few months." Hiccup complained, looking after the healer as she got up and handled Astrid a few strings of bandage, to patch him up.

"Then give it more time. Don't overdo yourself." The healer replied, walking to a table and starting to mash some plants into another wooden bowl.

"I'll try," Hiccup said, glancing towards Astrid as she was slowly bandaging around his shoulder. Once she thought it was tight enough, she ripped the end of the bandage and made a knot, locking the salve soaked cloth on his shoulder. "Thanks." he thanked Astrid, who smiled in return.

Then Hiccup started to dress his tunic and vest while Astrid patiently waited for him by the door. It's not that she disliked the healer or her hut, but the salves and plants and ingredients that were stored here really disturbed her nose, it still surprised her that some people could stand the strong scent that always filled those huts and dedicate their lives to make salves and 'things' out of plants and other stuff. Once Hiccup was ready and started to walk towards the door, the healer said, "Remember, you can only heal if you want to. I, nor no one else can force you to heal if you don't want to." Hiccup simple nodded in response and left the hut with Astrid.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was already evening and the young couple was sitting in their room at the inn, content after an overall good day. The room was mostly warm, especially now that the winter was finally starting to leave, even now that the fire was slowly dying, neither one of them made any signs that they would want to keep it alive, to continue warming the room. It hadn't even been cold in the past few nights, but that might also be because of the bundle of pillows and furs that were still spread on the bed from almost two months ago. Even if Drik, the new innkeeper, came searching for the missing furs and pillows, he didn't take everything back, there were enough left to make them feel cozy and warm.

Astrid's back was pressed to Hiccup's chest, his right hand lazily hugging her and holding her left one, slowly caressing over the bandage that covered the self-inflicted cut. "You've been obsessed with that cut since we arrived at the inn." She suddenly said, making him sigh.

"I'm sorry," Hiccup simply replied.

"Don't start with that again," She said, slowly turning around, wanting to face Hiccup.

He didn't reply right away. "I believe that all scars have a meaning, that they remain on the skin forever for a reason."

"So what does this scar mean to you?" Astrid asked, looking at Hiccup as he carefully grabbed her left hand in both of his and kissed her palm, over the bandage.

"This scar shows me that you are a better warrior than me."

"How?" She asked. "This scar is the proof that you defeated me."

"You gave up."

"So? You still won."

"There was no way that I could've bested you in combat, not in a fair fight, at least. And you saw that my shoulder was bothering me, that I was already exhausted and had little strength left. You could've easily defeated me, but you gave up. You swallowed your pride and gave up since you knew that I wouldn't have gone to the healer until I would've defeated you."

"And how does this make me a better warrior, again?"

"You cared more about your adversary's condition than about winning. I don't know how many vikings would've just gave up when they literally had the victory handled to them on a silver plate."

"That's a nice thing to say," She smiled at him, until he continued again.

"But it would've also been nice if you wouldn't had made a deep enough cut to leave a scar. Now this will be a constant reminder that I'm a selfish person."

"You're not selfish. You just wanted to brag that you defeated Astrid Hofferson in a sparring match. And there is nothing wrong with that. I even respect your ambition and how you didn't give up even when you knew that you already lost. Again, not a lot of vikings would've done that."

"Thanks."

"So, tell me what other scars mean?" Astrid asked, having a curious look in her eyes.

"Well, you have a lot of small cuts and bruises from helping me train, I don't even think I remember from where did most of them came."

"Tell me what do you think about this?" She asked, pointing to a small cut on her left cheek. She got that scar from an arrow that was shot towards her, she managed to dodge it in the last second, otherwise things would've been a lot nastier.

"I think this shows that you aren't just a pretty face and that you can defend yourself in case of something."

"Not just a pretty face?" She asked, slightly amused.

"Well, you're pretty and the scar is on your face, so it makes sense." He answered, making her laugh.

"I bet you like me only because of my scars," she commented, still looking amused at him.

"Yes, among other things."

"Like what?"

"That you always bring me breakfast here and wake me up; sometimes throwing the water you brought on me. Your sweet voice when you yell at me when I fell asleep at the forge, or when I defeat you in a race with Toothless."

"Because you cheat!"

"How? When?"

"You just do!"

"Just go to sleep. You're tired." Hiccup said, making her cuddle closer to him and he hugged her back lovingly. "I don't cheat," he muttered earning a small laugh from Astrid. Soon after that they both fell asleep.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was almost noon when Astrid entered the room and noticed that Hiccup was still sleeping. She placed the small plate with food on the table and then went near the bed to wake him up. "Hiccup," she said, looking amused at him as he covered his head with the pillow. "You don't want to do that," she threatened.

"Five more minutes..." Hiccup murmured in reply, relaxing once he heard Astrid's steps moving away from the bed. She had a very bad habit of waking him up by grabbing the furs off him when it was cold outside, leaving him no option but to get up and retrieve them, then she would engage in conversation and not let him get back to sleep.

"A messenger from the Meatheads arrived today," Astrid stated, sitting on a chair near the table.

"What did he want?" Hiccup asked, still not getting up.

"They want to gather as many vikings from all the villages that are willing to help them."

"With?"

Astrid sighed, glancing towards the covered window before she said. "They found the nest at Helheim's Gate."

"Wait, what?" Hiccup asked, now getting in a sitting position and looking confused at Astrid, thinking that he misheard her or something.

"They want to go to Helheim's Gate and kill all the dragons there."

"That's stupid."

"I know."

"No, wait. That's more than stupid. That's imbecilic! They'll all die!"

"Well don't yell at me!"

"What else did the messenger say?" Hiccup now got up and started to look around the room for a new tunic to wear.

"Most of the important villages accepted. Bob-Burglars, Berk, he said that even Dagur agreed."

"Of course he would be the first go and kill some dragons. For Thor's sake..." Hiccup complained, dressing his tunic while walking around the room, looking for something else. Astrid was only looking confused at him walking around. She understood his frustration with the fact that Berk agreed to go to Helheim's Gate to destroy the nest. He never managed to get any closure with his father and after he put a bounty on their head, things only got worse. She wondered if they could ever forgive each other.

"Can I help you?" She asked after a few moments, making Hiccup stop and glance at her.

"I can't find my boots."

"At the end of the bed," she pointed, making him turn around and quickly grab and equip them, muttering a 'thanks'.

"What did Audun said about this?" He asked, walking towards the door.

"Wait!" Astrid got up and quickly went to the door, where Hiccup was looking confused at her. She got between him and the portal before she said. "You won't go anywhere until you eat something."

He was looking slightly annoyed at her, but the tone she used and her expression left no space for arguing. So he sighed, went to the table and grabbed the loaf of bread and a piece of cheese from the plate then walked to the door, shoving it in his mouth. He kept his glare on Astrid for the whole time. After they both left the inn and he finished his rushed breakfast, he asked again. "What did Audun say?"

"He disagreed with the plan. He said that it was a bad idea and he won't send any of his people to die for nothing. Then the messenger started to argue with him and it ended up with a few yells and curses. It was pretty fun to watch." Astrid said, following Hiccup on the small streets.

"We should go with a few dragons and make sure they don't die." Hiccup replied, suddenly stopping and going in another direction.

"What can we do to not let them die?" She asked, running a little to catch up to him.

"We can fight the Queen and maybe..."

"Fight the Queen?!" Astrid interrupted. "Are you nuts?!"

"There is no way that they could defeat it. We have dragons..."

"That creature can swallow a Timberjack whole!"

"We have _two_ Night Furies! Toothless and Skað can easily distract her without being caught."

"Let's just say that it would work. Let's just say that by some miracle the huge ass dragon would decide to fly after two black dragons that are like some bugs to her. Then what? How do you think we can bring her down?! There is no way we could win that fight! And what about the vikings?! Do you think they'll just stay there and watch? And after we, hypothetically, defeat the Queen, what do you think they'll do? Thank us?!" Astrid yelled at him, making a few random villagers to stop and look confused in their direction.

"Astrid," Hiccup said calmly, getting in front of her and taking a deep breath before continuing, "Berk is the largest village in the Barbaric Archipelago, last time I checked there were almost five hundred vikings living there. Dad used to take about one hundred with him on each search for the nest; now that they _really _found the nest how many vikings do you think he'll take? How many vikings will _insist_ on going? At least four hundred, if not more. Imagine a lot of teens, about our age that would want to go to be there when the_ Dragon Queen_ dies," he said. Astrid sighed. She hadn't thought about it that way. "This is _only _Berk. Imagine all the other villagers: the Meatheads, the Bob-Burglars, the Berserkers and all the other small villages that want to be a part of this. There will be at least a thousand vikings on that island."

"I understand." Astrid said, bowing her head a little, fully realizing the gravity of the situation.

"They will all die if we don't do something." Hiccup said, making her look at him.

"But _we _could also die if we go there."

"I would rather die trying to save them, than stand here and do nothing." Hiccup said before turning around and starting to walk towards the Great Hall, Astrid quickly following him.

As the duo was approaching the great building, they noticed Audun exiting the building, followed behind by his son. They quickly ran to him and before Hiccup even had a chance to greet them, Audun said. "I guess the lass told you about the Meathead messenger."

"When do they plan to attack?" Hiccup asked, deciding to get straight to the point.

"One week after the Festival of the Idises."

"That's two weeks from _now_." Hiccup muttered.

"We already refused to help them, so don't you even think of doing something!" The chief said, walking in front of Hiccup. Bjørn and Astrid were both sitting behind, just listening to the conversation.

"Astrid and I can go with a few dragons and distract the Queen, that way they could..."

"It's out of the question! You will do no such thing!" Audun said louder.

"They'll all die!" Hiccup argued.

"There is nothing we can do for them."

"Yes there is! We can distract the Queen while they retreat. They won't want to fight once they'll get to see the size of that dragon."

"And you both could die. Neither one of you is allowed to leave this island!" The chief said.

"But..."

"It's final!" The chief finished, walking past Hiccup and Astrid, quickly followed by his son who took a small break to greet the duo.

Astrid and Hiccup just sat at the steps of the Great Hall and glared towards Audun as he walked away. "Maybe he's right." Hiccup said, making Astrid to look confused at him.

"Hundreds of vikings will die!" She yelled at him.

"But you won't be one of them." Hiccup simply said, looking at Astrid as her expression softened. "I don't want to lose you."

"But..." She tried to argue, but he hugged her. "We can't just give up like this."

"I don't want to risk your life."

"But we could save them."

"I _won't _risk your life." Hiccup said before he kissed her. He really didn't want to argue with her on this matter. Luckily she didn't insist after that. They walked through the village a little more before Hiccup went to the forge to finish his work and Astrid to the forest to check on the dragons.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Two weeks had passed and neither one of them said anything about the attack at Helheim's Gate. It still bothered them that they couldn't really do anything to help those vikings, but maybe that way the Barbaric Archipelago would think that only Fáfnir could protect them from the dragons. Or maybe they'll just hate the creatures so much more because they killed their loved ones. Either way, the whole viking world would change after this.

It was already dark when Astrid entered the inn, wet to the skin from the heavy rain outside. For the past hour she tried to trade with a merchant for a nice, painted shield. She liked the contrast of blue and orange the shield had, and also the small runes carved into the wood, but that 'greedy bastard' thought that five white wolf pelts, in perfect condition wasn't enough for the shield. She sighed again as she walked to the room she shared with Hiccup. She opened the door and looked at the dim illuminated room. The fire was almost dead and all she wanted now was to be somewhere warm. She grunted annoyed and entered the room, glancing at the bed where Hiccup was already sleeping covered by all the furs; she'll have to wake him and then he'll be grumpy, exactly what she needed right now...

Astrid grabbed a small log from the pile near the further wall and tossed it on the fire, hoping to reheat the room quickly. She then grabbed a chair from the table and brought it near the fireplace, then she arranged her cloak on it in order to dry itself until morning, hopefully. She undressed her tunic and tossed it on the chair before grabbing a dried one to wear. She tossed her boots near the bed before she decided that it was time to let Hiccup know that she was there. Astrid sat at the edge of the bed and looked at the pile of furs and pillows in front of her, but she didn't hear anything except the wood cracking in the fireplace, she should at least hear Hiccup snore or something. Slowly, she grabbed a fur that was covering the bed and pulled it off, revealing that the bed was actually empty. Instead of finding Hiccup muffled in furs and pillows, she just found a pile of those things in the bed. She looked confused around the room, only now noticing that his boots weren't even here.

She quickly got up from the bed and checked around the room, noticing a small piece of paper on the table. Astrid grabbed it and tried to read it, but it was too dark for that, so she went near the fire and knelt by it, now fully lighting the paper. Her eyes widening as she read it.

'Astrid, I suppose that you already noticed my absence, so I won't make this long. I've taken Toothless and I'm going to Helheim's Gate hoping that I can stop this, or at least save as many lives as possible. I know that I should've told you and I'm really sorry about that, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened to you, so that's why I left like this. I already prepared myself for this and I have all the necessary equipment, so don't worry. I should be back by morning.

Love, Hiccup.'

"I swear I'll cut his head when I get my hands on him!" She growled, charging out of the room with the intention of getting there as quickly as possible. Helheim's Gate was only two hours of flight from here, but Toothless was faster than Stormfly and she had no idea when he left. "That fricking idiot!" She said louder this time, arriving at the exit of the inn. She stopped and quickly looked down at her. She was barefoot and only wearing a thin tunic and leggings. She cursed again before running back to their room and grabbing her boots and her cloak. Then she stormed out of the building.

* * *

**Hope you liked it, the next chapter should be published next week.**


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